Contrary to the tall claims made by the government that everything is being done to ensure specially abled community exercise its rights without any hurdles, the highly qualified but visually-impaired people are being discriminated against and are told, directly or obliquely, that they are useless for the society.

A good number of visually impaired people have qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) and JRF (Junior Research Fellowship and a few among these specially abled people have obtained Ph.D degrees from reputed Universities of the country like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. But, unlike their fellow students from Delhi and elsewhere, they are neither eligible for lecturer-ship in Higher Secondary nor in Higher Education.

“Is it not injustice and open discrimination? We are not eligible even for Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS). Where should we go?” asked Tariq Bashir, one of the visually impaired students who has qualified NET (History), and passed the preliminary examination of KAS in 2009 but was not allowed to sit in mains examination by the Public Service Commission (PSC). “I was told that there is no provision to make scribes available to visually impaired candidates in mains examination. So I was deprived of my right to show my worth.”

A delegation of visually impaired scholars who visited this office said that they are desirous to apply for lectureship in Higher Secondary and Higher Education. “But as per the rules in vogue in our state, we are not eligible to apply. About the Higher Education the government orders are silent about our eligibility and unfortunately to teach in Higher Secondary schools, the government allows candidates with partial vision to apply. There is no provision for candidates with complete visual impairment,” said visually impaired Mohammad Ishaq, JRF (History).

The delegation of these scholars said in 2011 by virtue of a government order number 231-SW of 2013 dated 22-12-2011 the visually impaired candidates have been made eligible for the post of school teacher. “We fail to understand that if the Expert Committee has found us eligible for the post of school teacher where we have to teach various subjects, why it is not so in case of Higher Secondary and Higher Education where we can do comparatively better,” asked these scholars.

Jalil Ahmad M.A (History), one among the delegation said the Department of Higher Education has referred a good number of posts to PSC which is about to advertise these posts and it is a golden opportunity for them to apply and to demonstrate their worth.

It is pertinent to mention here that the department of Social Welfare, under the provisions of Disabled Act, is issuing orders from time to time in order to determine the eligibility of specially-abled citizens for various government services. In this connection the department appoints an Expert Committee. But unfortunately, while reviewing and updating the order this year, the Expert Committee has not made any substantial changes in its latest recommendations.

“The old recommendations which are outdated and not in tune with the technological changes have been reproduced in latest review meeting of the expert committee. The availability of talking books, internet, computer, latest mobile sets and the talking software has altogether changed the life of educated blind people. Indeed, in case of this category disability has almost seized to be a disability. But the latest government order has allowed candidates with partial visual impaired to apply for the posts of assistant professors in higher education department. Isn’t it injustice to candidates with complete visual impairment,” asks Tariq Bashir.

Javed Ahmad Tak, chairman humanity welfare helpline organisation an NGO working for the welfare of specially abled people in Jammu and Kashmir, believes that candidates with special abilities are allowed job quotas, but only on paper. “We are granted rights under the constitution which we are fighting for to this day. But we are reminded every day, by the government, the policy makers and the bureaucrats, that we have no role in our society. We are educated, responsible and competent, but the society is forcing us to stay useless, and be a burden on our families,” Tak observed.

He said that instead of encouraging disabled people to work, people at the helm of affairs are creating hurdles for us. “Is it the fault of these scholars that they are blind; did they choose this for themselves? And if they could read and qualify competitive examinations during their studies, why can’t they teach students with so much of competence,” Tak asked.

Tak said the government must reconsider its order No. 108-SW of 2013 dated 1-04-2013 taken under the cabinet decision number 75-08-2013 dated 26-03-2013 on priority in order to do justice to some blind aspirants who are desirous to apply for lecturer ship in Higher Secondary and Higher Education.

Source: Kashmir Times