Monday, Jun 29, 2009
To simplify learning process for visually challenged students

Tiruchi: Bharathidasan University is setting up a cell for developing devices and software systems to simplify the learning process for visually challenged students, Vice-Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko said here on Sunday.

Work on developing the necessary software will commence on July 1, he said after distributing educational aids to children of blind persons and students of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School for the Blind at Puthur here. Mr. Ponnavaikko also announced that the university was willing to extend concession in fee for visually challenged students pursing postgraduate and Ph.D programmes. He appealed to the visually challenged students to avail opportunities made available to them by the government and educational institutions.

The General Manager (Maintenance and Services and Civil) P. Nainar, who presided over, urged the visually challenged students to develop self-confidence as there was tremendous opportunity for them to become high achievers.

Educational aids, including school bags, notebooks and pencil/pens, were distributed to 100 children of blind parents.

About 100 students of the Government Girls Higher Secondary were given Braille slates, Braille charts and educational audio cassettes.

The aids were distributed at the initiative of K. Selvaraj, an employee of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and an activist promoting eye donation in the city.

He has been distributing the aids, with the help of donations raised from philanthropists, to visually challenged students every year for the past 15 years.