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The National Association for the Blind (NAB) in Bangalore says that of 100 students enrolled in 2012, they found jobs for 95.
Along with providing education, NAB Karnataka also provides employment opportunities for rural and tribal people. Rehabilitation, education and vocational training are given free of cost. Its motto is to provide easy access to education and create employment opportunities for the blind population.
NAB Karnataka branch was established in 1977 in order to provide a platform for the visually impaired to get recognition in society.
M. Srinivas, Chief Executive Officer of NAB, said: “We have different programmes for visually challenged people. We provide inclusive education for blind children. That means blind children go to school like any other child. They should not be segregated as blind or visually challenged kids. They should be treated equally.”
There are some schools for the blind but there are no colleges for them. NAB has a wing which provides a graduation programme for free. Any blind person, especially from rural areas, can apply for the course after PUC.
Most of the programs and courses offered in NAB are for rural and tribal people only and not for the urban population.
Along with inclusive education, there are one-year rehabilitation courses and practical training is given to visually challenged children. They get training on how to walk on the road and interact with people.
NAB has a computer course which is affiliated with NIIT. The basic course lasts four months and is for those who have passed high school. It MS office, HTML and internet browsing.
The advanced course lasts a year and is for those who have completed their graduation in any field. This course includes learning of different computer programmes.
Srinivas said: “We want to give special attention to our children and that is why there is one teacher for every eight students. Every year 100 students get enrolled in vocational training courses like weaving, candle-making and stitching. 95 of them got jobs in different companies in 2012.”
Reiterating that the absorption of visually challenged people has increased, he said, “In 2010, out of 100 students, 50 got jobs. In 2012, 65 students got jobs. Job opportunities are increasing for the visually challenged as in some schools they get jobs as trainers.”
There are around 500 workers from NAB working in garment factories all over Karnataka.
(Shreya’s article first appeared in The Weekly Observer , the campus paper of the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media where she studies.)
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