Audio-graphs that can represent actual data-graphs are one of the many technological wonders that a group of blind students learnt about from a Delhi-based teenager this weekend. On his way to Stanford University to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science, 18-year-old visually impaired Kartik Sawhney inspired at least 20 blind students to pursue maths and science, in a two-day workshop that ended Saturday.
The students are waiting and the software and syllabus is ready for the world's first engineering college for the visually impaired, but a search for suitable land to set up the multi-crore campus that could empower hundreds of special children is where the project is stuck.
An ambitious blueprint to set up an engineering college by the Devnar Foundation, with help from professors of BITS Pilani, along with 20 different digital and Braille software and initial funding arrangement is however ready.
The Delhi University today informed the High Court that all the visually impaired students will be given laptops fitted with Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) software.
The university told the court that this was being done so that the students do not suffer in the four-year undergraduate programme, being implemented from July 24.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday extracted an assurance from the Delhi University that all grievances of visually impaired students especially regarding mandatory courses in mathematics and science will be addressed before the commencement of the four-year programme later this month.
Satisfied with the steps promised by the Delhi University to ensure visually impaired students have full access to its teaching experience when the four-year programme starts, the Delhi high court on Wednesday disposed of a PIL raising the issue.
Lady Shri Ram College for Women is coming up with a resource centre for its disabled students as part of its equal-opportunity centre, Swavalamban.
"It is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with latest assistive technology aimed at promoting self-reliance and independence among disabled students. The resource centre is endowed with a braille embosser, screen reading software, lex-cam scanner, book scanner, DAISY recorders as well as 10 computer systems with OCR software in both English and Hindi," said Kanika Khandelwal, the college's media coordinator.
The students say their agricultural-labourer parents cannot afford to send them to Chennai and support their educational needs
Mustafa is not excited about scoring 90 per cent in the CBSE 10th standard school results announced recently. But his family and the entire community are happy about how bravely this 100 per cent blind boy has fought his disability.
Protest eye exam for aspirants; officials scrap it, say it was to mainstream students
A proposed eye exam for aspirants to the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind in Poonamallee was abandoned on Friday after a group of visually challenged persons staged a protest there.
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