Comments
Visually challenged students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have got an additional eye into the internet world with a special computer facility installed exclusively for their use.
Opening this window of opportunity is the defence public sector undertaking, Midhani, which has sponsored desktop computers and Jaws software installations as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
A group of enthusiastic visually-challenged students demonstrated the operation of the special software to the gathering. The addition helps in beefing up the two existing lab facilities that the University has with relevant software on campus.
The UoH has close to 100 differently-abled students (80 being visually challenged). Last year, the students were given Angel pocket recorders (which help them record the teacher’s class session and prepare notes), said Rajagopal, Chairman of the Empowered Committee for the differently-abled persons.
The University has requested for grants from the University Grants Commission to support it by providing digital video labs, computers (especially laptops) and vehicles to the physically challenged students, he told Business Line .
The University Vice-Chancellor, Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, inaugurated the facility on Independence Day at the College of Integrated Studies.
Grant-in-aidIn October 2013, the Central University got a grant of ₹6 crore to create a barrier-free environment and make the on-campus activities of these challenged people easier. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had approved the grant-in-aid of ₹4 crore in the last fiscal.
Work on the project has already been initiated. As per plan, 18 lifts will be installed in the 15 buildings, including academic, library and administration on the sprawling campus in Gachibowli area of Hyderabad.
Each lift will have the provision to accommodate wheel chairs in accordance with the Bureau of Indian Standards. In addition, there will be fixtures such as auditory signals, Braille signage and accessible control panels, among others.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.