Calcutta, April, 6 :    Calcutta, April, 6:  A two-day conference for teachers, parents and counsellors of challenged children at Manovikas Kendra started on Friday morning. The All-India Special Education Conference was organised by Manovikas Kendra Rehabilitation and Research Institute for the Handicapped (MRIH) and the United States Education Foundation, India. The seminar, with the aim to 'share perspectives on the formulation and implementation of emerging and recognising procedures of clinical diagnosis and assessment', is being coordinated by Dr Eric Kruger. A Fulbright scholar, Kruger has been working with Manovikas Kendra since January, and now wants to introduce a new concept in the field of education for special needs children: the design-down method. A more 'goals-oriented' approach, the technique involves student-to-student assessment of abilities. 'Teachers first need to have a vision of where the individual student should be by the end of school. They then design the curriculum he/she should follow, backwards, to reach that end,' explains Kruger. This method, according to the professor of education at the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, has rapidly gained acceptance in the US. Speakers include Satish Girimaji, Alka Nizamie, Manoranjan Singh and K.C. Panda. Methods of testing and tracking a student's development will also be discussed at the meet. 'The theories are definitely in place here,' says Kruger. 'But implementation is the problem.' Kruger stressed the need for 'teamwork' in schools, as well as the greater role of parents. 'In the US, parents are the main vociferous force behind education of challenged children. Parents need to get more involved with schools and legislation to ensure that their child has the best possible opportunities,' he said. A shop for the students of the school creative club, Manokriti, was also inaugurated. Jute bags, mats and rugs made by the children, as well as packaged biscuits, bhujia and masala muri will be sold at the store on the Manovikas Kendra campus.