Sameer Garg was a mere teenager when a debilitating spinal injury made a walking stick his companion. Not only did the disability take a toll on his personal life, but the Meerut lad also missed out on several lucrative job opportunities that were there for the taking. For a bright, full-of-life teenager, an incident like that can crush the spirit.

Education and giving exams is no easy task for the impaired. And, those setting the papers seem oblivious to the issues plaguing these students, especially those attempting higher education tests.

Questions where it is necessary to see a diagram, figure, bar graph or chart are a bane for these students, even if they have a writer explaining it to them. And, question papers never take this into account.

An undergraduate student at St. Francis College, Hyderabad, walked into the office of the principal at Devnar Foundation and said she wanted to teach blind children painting. He was nice enough to tell her to go ahead, and she held a very successful workshop. To ensure she could do it, she had practised with her eyes closed and using indents to create a touch-based outline. On the second day of the workshop, a participant came up to her and told her, with confidence, that he could draw a fish on a shoebox using just his tactile sense.

The Directorate of Higher Education, Chandigarh Administration has directed all government colleges in Chandigarh to pay writers who appear for visually impaired students in their exam. As per the notification by the Higher Education Department circulated to the colleges, a writer will receive Rs 300 per paper to write the exam of visually impaired students and upto Rs 2,000 per student. Twenty-four visually impaired students are studying in government colleges in Chandigarh who will receive the writer financial assistance facility for the first time.