Blind Students: An Alternate Perspective of Life in DU http://www.universityexpress.co.in/delhiuniversity/2014/08/blind-students-alternate-perspective-life-du/
by Anuraag Gupta ยท August 24, 2014 Hellen Keller, born in 1880, was an author, political activist and a lecturer. Even decades after her death there are innumerable honours showered on her. Her birthday, on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, there are stamps issued in her honour, and there are streets and hospitals named after her. Christine Ha, American chef and writer, is the winner of the 3rd season of Masterchef USA. Also, she is also the host of a cooking television show Four Senses and also writes for various magazines. What do they have common? They both achieved everything in their life without the gift of sight, and they act as ideal examples for millions of such people out there. DU has its own share of visually challenged students, but the question is whether the facilities are up to the mark. A reservation policy which is not followed by an apt system of devoted facilities is null. For example, in the University of Washington a student who is blind will type written assignments using a computer that is equipped with speech output & may be given up to double the time that is allotted sighted peers. Today, we dissect the conditions of blind students that prevail in DU. Equal Opportunity is a distant dream." This was what a blind gentleman one had the pleasure of speaking to on a rickshaw ride had to say. "Change needs sensitization programs. Until people become sensitive, nothing can improve." Avichal is a 2nd year student of English at Ramjas College. Lauded by his professors and peers alike for being exceptionally bright, his visual impairment has certainly not clouded his vision for himself as he is one of the most able students in his class. He says, "When I came to DU, I was told that there are facilities for the differently abled such as the Equal Opportunity Cell. However, during the admission process last year, I found that there were no special helpdesk for the differently abled, despite a provision that every college must have one. Fortunately, I got a lot of co-operation from my department. Teachers allowed me to record their lectures without hesitation and provided soft copies of any material they had. My experience with the department has been good, but I am dissatisfied with treatment given by authorities. There is no enabling unit though every college is supposed to have one." Also, upon further interviews it was noticed that while authorities did dole out free pen drives to these students, they could be more active in the implementation of concrete solutions laid down by the concerned students. A Braille notice board in the college and improvement in infrastructure were some basic requirements. Though the suggestions were not outright rejected, they were postponed in a show of 'typical government officer' behaviour. Problems for the differently abled range from daily commuting to dogs(which are permanent residents on every college campus) getting in their way and being accidentally kicked, which puts them into a rage causing the unfortunate perpetrator to be bitten. In Janki Devi Memorial College, a visually impaired student remarked though they get cassettes from the Arts Faculty, they would prefer Braille books along with them. Their fee is almost nil and they get free food from their canteen, but the bus services are terrible. They also say that the behaviour they were subject to at the hands of their fellow students was awful at times. This is what Ms. Renu Gupta of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce had to say on the issue "The conditions have improved over the past 4 years because of the work of the students and NGO's. Earlier the enabling units were almost non-existent, but now they are really active, at least in our college. I am the head of the enabling unit and proud to say that every member in the unit is given really good treatment." "Some things have improved. But a lot more has to be done. You can't just improve one thing a year. This way, if hundred things are to be improved, it'll take a hundred years!" says Avichal. Also, according to the professor from SGGS, an effective way to improve facilities would be to promote E-texts (basically, words to sound conversion using a computer) even further. While Braille texts are helpful during the primary stages, it is more efficient to have E-texts at higher levels. It would also be erroneous to ignore the efforts put in by Satyawati College, which is praised for its efforts in this direction not just by one but many sources. From a supportive principal to inclusive competitions, where teams comprise of one abled and one differently abled, Satyawati College has set an inspiring example. Commuting is a hurdle which the Delhi metro has improved, but there is still major scope in other modes of transport. A visually impaired person can ask the Delhi Metro for assistance and will receive help in being taken to the platform and into the first compartment of a train. Despite this, it's not uncommon to see the differently abled wandering a platform alone and not one person stopping to help. While problems are aplenty, solutions and people actively seeking to counter them are relatively scarce. "Usually people just feel sorry for people with disabilities and show pity, which in my opinion is not the way to go about this at all!" says Dhruv from Ramjas. Isn't the need of the hour to come up with concrete, practical solutions to this decades old problem? What do YOU think can be done to improve the state of things for the differently abled in DU? Share with us! (A huge thanks to Ms. Renu Gupta and Avichal Bhatnagar for sharing their thoughts and experiences with us!) -- Avichal bhatnagar Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
