Ahmedabad: Students with visual impairment get Braille help to pursue science

Ahmedabad: Sujal Dudhrejiya, 16, a native of Bhavnagar, is learning the concept of calculating the area of a cone at the newly opened maths and science lab at the Minnie Cama Secondary & Higher Secondary School for the Blind, located at the Blind People's Association (BPA) in the city.A Class 10 student, he is among the four this year of the 20-odd students of Class 10 who opted for maths as a subject. Nikita Patel, a teacher at the school, says that the rest of the students opt for music. "The students find mathematics difficult, primarily in understanding some concepts. Thus, we have to devise novel ways to teach it," she says. "A sum or a problem often takes more than 30 minutes as we combine auditory clues, Braille writing, and tactile models to give students an idea, be it geometry, algebra, or logic with topics such as probability." Dudhrejiya says, "I want to be a software engineer or a coder. For those courses, mathematics is a prerequisite." Dudhrejiya adds, "I would not say that it is one of the easiest subjects, but it is not the toughest either. We learn about shapes, radius, area, etc, through deconstructing the models." As Jan 4 is celebrated as Braille Day to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, who devised the coding method for alphabets and numbers for the visually impaired, the organizations working with the blind are pointing to a silent change. More students are opting for mathematics, something which was out of bounds due to difficulty in teaching and explanation. On the other hand, the number of students with visual impairment opting for the Class 12 science stream also saw a slow but steady rise, officials of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) said. Annually, about 7 to 10 students opt for the stream, officials said. A major decision was recently taken about integrating students with disabilities into the mainstream by providing them with adequate time and tools to show their talent. A notification by the state education department dated Dec 22 last year indicated that students could opt for more than one writer for different subjects and use a computer. "The move is to ensure that candidates with disabilities can appear for the exam and choose the same opportunities that the other candidates get," said a senior GSHSEB official. "The new provisions will provide parity for candidates with other students." Gaurav Zala, a Class 9 student at BPA with visual impairment, is examining the models of inertia minutely. "We learnt fractions through strips with different sizes and markers," he says. "If we get the right educational aids and tools, I am sure we can also achieve our dreams to pursue technical courses." BOX Level Playing Field What the new rules indicate - A disability certificate will be valid from multiple competent authorities for specific disabilities - The principal of the school will be the competent authority to provide the service of a writer. In the board exams, it will be the district education officer (DEO) - A candidate can opt for different writers for different exams, especially for language subjects, if applicable - The students can take the help of a certified reader device. It will be only for the question paper and will not be used to write the paper - If the candidate asks for a writer from the DEO, the service should be provided free of charge. The DEO should ensure a hassle-free process and a prior meeting between the candidate and the writer - A medical certificate will be required for the use of a laptop or computer in the examination - The candidate can use a computer loaded with Braille and screen reader software. The candidate will have to arrange the device - The computer must not be connected to the internet, and it must not have any details related to the exam. The device should be submitted to the exam centre three days prior to the exam - The candidates will be provided 20 minutes extra per hour of the exam - Instead of practical examinations, the candidates will have to take a multiple-choice question (MCQ) test of the same marks related to the same experiment or question. Wherever there are questions related to diagrams, maps, and graphs, alternative questions should be provided