Education and Employment

Shedding 'inner light' on functioning of civic body

Umpteen reasons could be cited to give up when hurdles come across one’s way. Or stay scared before fate. Here, let’s take your attention to S L Harikumar, who now basks in the sweet success of winning a doctorate in Political Science from Kerala University.

Born visually-impaired, this assistant professor in Political Science cleared all the obstructions with his willpower and dedication to achieve his dream. He chose ‘Decentralisation and Development in Urban Local Government: A Study of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation 1995-2005’ as his topic.

Write, change blind fate

Finding a responsible person to do the writing for them in the examination hall is no less a source of tension for blind students than the problems created by their disability. Lack of writers is particular painful for blind students studying for an advanced degrees in universities.

Jaydev Thakkar is a blind student studying for a BEd degree. Despite his disability, he is working hard to clear the exams so that he can become a teacher. "I want to be independent. Education is the only stick which will help me find my way in life," he said.

Lack of braille question paper crushes aspirant’s hopes

Miranda Tomkinson, 35, a visually-challenged and hearing-impaired postgraduate, failed twice in his UGC exam despite hard work and preparation, simply because the Braille question paper was not available for him and he could not hear the scribe because of his disability. He hopes to clear the exam this December if he gets a Braille question paper. He had given several petitions to the UGC but received no response.

Training centre for disabled kids soon

The district welfare department for the differently-abled people here is all set to get a new training centre for children with disabilities. The work for the exclusive centre will commence soon. The proposed centre will be the second such facility in the state after Chennai.

Blind teachers struggle without course recognition

They have qualified under the special B.Ed degree category but are not considered for jobs

Visually-impaired teachers are waging a difficult battle.

They may have qualified under the special B.Ed degree category but are not considered for jobs.
Then there are the sighted persons who have undergone special training to teach the visually-challenged students; their course is either not recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) or they have not received salaries for several years.

Special Education: Does India really give it enough importance?

Special education in layman's terms is the education of students with special needs in a way that takes into consideration the child's particular needs and understands their limitations. Within this stream of education, the child is involved in individually planned teaching procedures and is monitored by a trained professional. There also maybe the use of adapted equipment and materials as well as comfortable settings to ensure the comfort of the child. Special needs institutions aim to raise the level of personal self sufficiency and success in the day to day lives of the children.

Delhi University: Math foundation course mix-up has students in a bind

Teachers have not only been confounded by the question of what to teach in case of Foundation Courses, but also when to teach in the case of the course on "Mathematical Awareness." This was designed especially for blind students, as a substitute for " Building Mathematical Ability" and was meant to be taught in the second semester. However, several colleges are already teaching it and the paper has also showed up on the datesheet for the semester-end exams.

An all-inclusive workplace

With more companies acknowledging the concept of inclusivity, Rehna Abdul Kareem speaks to some organisations about creating a conducive work environment for people with special needs.

Visually challenged ahead of time

Providing opportunities to become independent is better than giving money on charity. That’s the idea behind telecom service provider Vodafone’s ‘Project Dhrishti’ which aims at providing employment opportunity to the visually impaired and encouraging them to be self-dependent.

DU drops math awareness from semester exam list

Delhi University has dropped Mathematical Awareness, a foundation course which replaces Building Mathematical Ability for the visually impaired, from the date-sheet of the end-semester exams set to start in November.

Its inclusion in the sheet had caused much confusion among students as well as teachers as it contradicted instructions from Delhi University's equal opportunity cell to teach the course only in the second semester.