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Disability News India (DNI)

Disability News India (DNI), is a disability News service dedicated to providing a quality up-to-date information to the Indian Disability. DNI's news section is updated two times a week, though we also add breaking stories as and when they occur.




Disability News India – June 2009 Issue



Funds crunch makes GRSTC bus depots disabled–unfriendly

Gandhinagar, 29 Jun : Of the 125 Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) bus depots in the state, facilities for disabled people at 104 are missing. A slope which is mandatory at each bus stop to facilitate for disabled people board the vehicle comfortably is not in place.

GSRTC officials say it is the dearth of funds which a big hurdle in providing such facilities.

The matter was taken up recently by the Disability Advocacy Group during a meeting with RM Patel, principal secretary, labour and employment department, who also holds the additional charge of disabled commissioner. The representatives of the group demanded that there should be an adequate arrangement for disabled people to get into a bus easily and get down from them as well.

During the meeting, PK Patel, chief traffic & commercial manager, said there were slopes at 21 bus depots for disabled people. He added at the remaining 104 depots, there was no provision for slopes and fund crunch was a big hindrance. The commissioner directed GSRTC to allocate funds and set a deadline for making slopes at all these depots.

Pradeep Anjaria, a commuter, said, "The buses are designed in such a manner that it becomes difficult for disabled people to get inside them. The entrance of these buses are L–shaped and hence they cannot board the bus easily."

He said in absence of a slope, one has to first lift disabled people and take him on the platform and then take his wheelchair in. They also find it difficult to get into a bus as there is no separate lane for them to board a bus.

Ranjit Gohil, who was present at the meeting, said, " Disabled people are provided host of facilities in many countries. But in India, laws are not enforced properly. One needs to ensure implementation of these laws without fail."

Gohil said the situation of the railways is no better. He has filed a complaint against the railways stating that it does not have any facility for disabled passengers to move from platform 1 to 12. He said there is a slope for entry to platform 1 only. The lifts which are installed at the platforms are mostly out of order, he pointed out.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Radio programme for, of and by the visually–impaired

PUNE, 28 Jun: For over an hour, visually–impaired and sighted students interacted with each other on air over music and sports, even grammar.

The programme was Braille Webradio Dnyanadrushtiche Saadhak Aamhi' (In pursuit of Knowledge) run for, of and by visually impaired, which went live on Vidyawani, the community radio station at the University of Pune at 107.4 Mhz on Saturday afternoon. Students from Jagruti School for Blind Girls, Alandi, and sighted students from Aksharnandan participated.

Satish Navale, who conceptualised the idea of Braille radio, spearheads the Dnyanadrushtiche Saadhak Aamhi' series. "This is the first time that a radio programme for the visually–impaired has gone on air," he says. "The aim of this programme is to give visually–impaired students professional training in radio production, writing, presenting and other technical aspects related to the field. Bringing the sighted and visually–impaired together is a way to bridge the gap between the two and help the blind live and develop normally within society, without feeling isolated." said Navale, himself visually–impaired.

Navale is supported by a team of seven visually–impaired students who learnt radio production and presentation on the job. "We have presented this maiden episode as an experiment. We want to make visually–impaired students well–versed with every aspect of community radio service," says Anand Deshmukh, director of Vidyawani.

Rajani Indulkar, honorary secretary of the Poona School and Home for the Blind Trust and Dnyaneshwar Tapkir, vice–president of the National Federation of the Blind in Maharashtra (that runs Jagruti School) were chief invitees at the programme.

"This is the first time I learnt just by listening. It was fun interacting with the Jagruti students," says Parag Velankar, a Std IX Aksharnandan student.

The programme is supported by of the Board of College and University Development (BCUD). "We are going to establish an extensive policy for the rehabilitation and development of the visually impaired, which involves training and even placements," said Pandit Vidyasagar, director of BCUD.

We also get guidance from the faculty of Pali at UoP and Mahesh Deokar and Arvind Paranjape of IUCAA. "We want to include subjects like astronomy, maths and science in our future episodes," said Navale.

The long–term plan of all those involved in this initiative is to approach All India Radio (AIR) to broadcast programmes of, for and by the visually impaired. "We want to motivate and guide the physically disabled through this radio programme. The visually impaired are the first to be invited to participate in it," said Sanjeev Sonawane, professor and head of the department of education and extension, under which visually impaired students get assistance in Braille.

"Such a programme will help the visually impaired gain more knowledge just by hearing because their auditory senses are the sharpest," said Indulkar.

The next episode of Dnyanadrushtiche Saadhak Aamhi' will be a two–hour segment to be aired on September 5, on the occasion of Teacher's Day. "We plan to invite visually–impaired teachers, as well as visually– impaired students for this show," said Navale, who is also planning a special episode to be based and recorded on the Wagah Border in mid– October.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Proper care urged for disabled people on Helen Keller birth anniversary

Imphal, June 27: There is need for handling disabled people in the state with proper care to enable them to feel like normal people, said MLA, Th Nandakishore at the observation of the 129th birth anniversary of Helen Keller at the Bal Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School in Imphal this morning.

He further said there were many instances of normal people mocking disabled people because they were unaware that disabled people also sometimes have creativity which the normal people could never achieve. Such talents should be regarded by the common people so that disabled people could survive with meaning.

In the meantime, Ph Nando Luwang, the advisor of MSF who attended the function as a special guest disclosed that it is very wrong to mistreat disabled people without recognising their mental potentials which could be used for the betterment of mankind.

As a part of the observation the chief guest also distributed wheel chairs and cane sticks to disabled students.

Source: http://www.kanglaonline.com

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Cochlear implant programme brings hope for deaf children

Chennai, June 25: Children born deaf now have a ray of hope to overcome their deformity as a city–based hospital has recently launched a Cochlear Implant programme to enable them hear and speak well within a short period.

Cochelar, an instrument that is surgically implanted in the patient's ear through surgery, converts sound waves into electrical signals, which is passed onto the brain, enabling the patient to hear.

"The surgery, which takes about two hours, can be done on patients from the age of one year to six years", KKR ENT Hospitals Managing Director Ravi Ramalingam told reporters here today.

He said that advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant Systems, an FDA approved company, manufactures these devices.

"We did research in association with WHO and found that three out of every thousand children born today suffer from severe degree of impaired hearing, which could eventually require cochlear implantation", he claimed.

Source: http://news.chennaionline.com

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Railways decide to recruit disabled people

PATNA, 16 Jun: Disabled people have reasons to cheer up. The railways, which has been the largest employer in government service, has decided to re–start recruitment process under the disability category. In the first phase of recruitment process, the railways would fill up vacancies of about 4,254 posts in group C and D categories across the country.

According to sources, the railways have fixed a time frame for completing this recruitment process. In fact, the railways would launch a special drive to fill up backlog of vacancies of physically disabled persons in the railways.

The special recruitment process would be completed in about 19 months from now as per requirements of the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, sources said.

Confirming it, a Railway Board official said that the railways have also decided to fill up the backlog of vacancies under disabled category on non–technical ministerial posts in the Indian Railway Personnel Service and Indian Railway Accounts Service with 50 per cent seats to be filled up this year and the rest next year, he said. The backlog of the recruitment under disabled category had accumulated since 1996 due to some technical reasons. Thus chances of getting recruited in the railways seem to be more bright now for disabled persons, sources said.

Under the three per cent quota identified for disabled people, the railways have reserved one per cent each for orthopaedically disabled, hearing impaired and the visually challenged category.

The railways would expedite the recruitment process as per rules and the eligibility of candidates under the Disabiity Act 1995, said a board official.

It may be recalled that the All India Confederation of Blind had moved the Delhi High Court recently seeking directive to the railways in this regard.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Railways to make 1,500 stations 'disabled friendly'

New Delhi, Jun 14: With a view to giving convenience to disabled people, the Railways have decided to provide special facilities in over 1,500 stations in the country. Special facilities like access ramps, reserved parking slots, low height water taps and suitable toilets for disabled people will be developed in phases at important railway stations, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

"The decision in this regard has been taken by the Railway Board. We have earmarked 1,560 stations for the purpose and the work at all these B–Category stations most of them in state capitals and important cities will be completed by the end of 2010," he said.

Railways have nearly 7,000 stations spread in 16 zones.

Non–slippery walk way for the handicapped and special signage for the blind will also be put up at the stations. "The Board has also decided to have 'May I help you booths' especially to guide and assist them in case of need," the officer said.

Source: http://www.ptinews.com

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Jaipur Zoo neglects disabled people

JAIPUR, 12 Jun: While the crowd was thrilled to catch a glimpse of the tiger, two young men––Satyababu and Ashirwadam, found it difficult to walk past them to enjoy the sight. disabled people , they patiently waited for people to move to other cages, before they could finally manage to see the animal.

The Jaipur Zoo claims to have built specially–designed chairs for the 12 Jun. However, according to a source, these chairs are no longer in use and are left to decay at a corner, away from the view of the passers –by. "The zoo had built them for disabled people, but today they are in a sad state.Ideally, these chairs should be kept at the entrance so that they can be used by disabled people," he said.

In addition, the zoo does not provide any information to the public regarding the provision of such a facility. The entrance notice–board does not mention that it is a disabled–friendly zoo. Frequent visitors to the zoo were unaware of such a provision being made available to the disabled. Most zoo workers, like sweepers and maintainence staff seemed clueless about the presence of disabled–friendly chairs.

"We don't know if such a chair is available for us. It is difficult to walk in this scorching summer. These chairs could have made our visit more convenient," Satyababu said, who has come with his friend Ashirwadam from Andhra Pradesh for treatment at SMS Hospital.

Officials however, claim the zoo has two such chairs which are kept at the entrance and are made available when asked for by a visitor. "We keep them at the entrance but most of the time, disabled people come with their own chairs," they said.

The officials denied the chairs were in a dilapidated condition, but when asked to be shown said both have been sent for repairs and will be put in place in another two–three days. However, when contacted the director, Jaipur Zoo, said "We have sent one chair for repair and one is present in the office."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Teaching dreams lure disabled people to DU

NEW DELHI, 12 Jun: Many youngsters may be confused about a career even as they apply for admission to Delhi University (DU), but most disabled students know exactly what they want to do – they want to be teachers, say counselors.

"I want to pursue B Com (Hons) and go for B Ed later. I have always wanted to become a teacher. I think there is nothing greater than spreading knowledge," Ashish Jain, a Delhi University aspirant, said.

Jain, who suffers from a limp in the right leg, scored 65% in his Class 12 examinations. "While teaching is a noble profession, it is also a little relaxing for a disabled person like me," he added.

So far nearly 250 disabled students have applied for admission to various colleges of Delhi University.

Radhika Handa, a counselor with the Delhi University help desk for disabled people, said, "Most disabled students aspiring for admission in DU want to take up teaching as a profession later in life. Not just students but even their parents are encouraging them to go for it."

For Lal Munni, the resident of a slum cluster who has applied at the varsity, becoming a teacher guarantees a good salary along with a respectable job.

"I have applied for the BA programme and my preference is Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College. I want to become a teacher because then I would be able to earn well and work in a respectable environment," said Munni, who has a problem in her legs.

A common concern of disabled students is the accessibility of the colleges from their residence.

"While choosing the college for admission, they are mostly concerned with facilities like a ramp and distance of travel involved," said Ashu Sharma, a Delhi University student who is also a counsellor at the help desk.

Ritu Mehra (name changed), who scored 70% in her Class 12 exams, said, "I want to do my graduation in B Com from Sri Ram College of Commerce. I want to become a chartered accountant. Teaching is not a bad option either."

Archana Kadambari, another counsellor, said, "Some disabled students are very confused as to what course to take up and it's our job to help them. Most of them want to become teachers; so we help them in figuring out the best course."

The university has started an 'Equal Opportunity Cell' (EOC) for students with disabilities for providing them facilities such as a computerized study centre, Braille book and talking books.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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ICFD to organise national level cricket tourney for disabled people

Lucknow , Jun 7 In a first of its kind, the Indian Cricket Federation for Disabled (ICFD) will be organising a national–level cricket tournament for people with physical disabilities by the end of this year.

"We are in the process of framing a new cricket calendar for the year under which zonal cricket tournaments for the disabled in all age groups shall be organised round the year," ICFD founder secretary AW Siddiqui told.

The zonal cricket tournaments, spread across 26 states and to be held on the lines of Ranji Trophy, are slated to kickstart from December this year.

Siddiqui said the idea behind organising the event was to inspire people with deformities and generate sportsmen spirit in them.

Over 24 organisation working for the welfare of disabled people are affiliated with the ICFD, he said.

"We at ICFD firmly believe that deformity is no impediment in playing cricket and by giving opportunity to such aspirants their mental and physical capabilities can be enhanced,"he added.

Source: http://www.indopia.in

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Law university campus to be 100 per cent disabled–friendly

Ahmedabad, Jun 07 : The new campus of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) at Coba near Gandhinagar, whose foundation stone was laid on Friday, will be 100 per cent disabled–friendly. This will be the first educational campus in the country to be so.

GNLU Director Bimal Patel said: "Our efforts are to make this campus a unique architectural marvel. Its most prominent feature will be its disabled–friendly design. The campus will be spread over 50 acres of land and will be made in a few phases, of which phase one has started."

GNLU officials added that the new campus will include academic sections, residential hostels, faculty accommodations and a state–of–art world class library.

Once the new campus is ready in a couple of years, nearly 900 students from 26 states and 35 full–time faculty members from 18 states across India will be benefited, officials said.

"With this development, GNLU is poised to become one of the premier institutions located in the heart of the Knowledge Corridor of Gujarat," Patel added.

GNLU officials further said that it is the only national law university in the country, which offers interdisciplinary legal courses in all the three streams ? arts, commerce and science. It offers five year integrated degree courses ? B.A LL.B (Hons.); B.Com, LL.B (Hons) and B.Sc, LL.B (Hons.) as well as a two–year post graduate LL.M programme.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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Minister says govt to enhance literacy rate among hearing–impaired students

Bhubaneswar, June 06 : School and mass education minister Pratap Jena on Friday maintained that his department would take more steps to enhance literacy rate among the hearing–impaired students.

Addressing a workshop on 'Better teaching and quality education for hearing–impaired students,' organized by the Satyabhama Devi Welfare Trust here, Jena said that the hearing–impaired students deserve a better deal and the department would take steps to provide better facilities to the students. He stressed on job–oriented courses for them. He also asked teachers and officials to give extra time for these students.

Source: http://orissadiary.com/

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Demand for disability commissioner in Manipur

IMPHAL, Jun 4: Handicapped Development (HD) Foundation, Manipur again submitted a memorandum to the state Governor, chief minister, chief secretary, minister social welfare and commissioner social welfare of Manipur today urging them to appoint a disability commissioner in the state of Manipur for the welfare of disabled people.

In this regard, the HD Foundation media and communication officer, L Indrakumar maintained that the said memorandum was already given to the state government and the concerned department for appointment of a disability commissioner on November 17, 2008, but the government has not given any positive response till date and that is the reason the HD foundation again submitted the memorandum today.

In the absence of a disability commissioner in the state disabled people are facing various problems and if the state government appoints a disability commissioner it would surely be able to provide equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation to the disabled people, he said.

Source: http://www.kanglaonline.com

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Delhi University installs screen reading software for visually impaired

NEW DELHI, 3 Jun: After introducing the Braille form last year, Delhi University (DU) has put together a talking computer for the benefit of visually impaired candidates during admissions this year. With this, it's only encouraging that out of 50 disabled candidates registered in the first two days, 33 were visually impaired.

DU got an encouraging response from disabled candidates on Tuesday. Thirty–seven such students were registered for admission as compared to just 13 on the first day. Now, with an added facility, DU aims to make the entire procedure more convenient for visually impaired.

The two computers put up near the registration desk at the office of the dean of students' welfare, have a screen reading software with which the candidates can hear the content of their registration form, handbook of DU's equal opportunity cell, college and course codes (fixed for admission), subject codes of class XII besides other documents. They will be guided by a counsellor in filling up the forms.

According to Seema M Parihar, deputy dean, students' welfare, the talking computers were introduced in the admission process this year after it was realised during last year's admissions that many visually– impaired candidates could not read Braille. "These children are more computer–savvy. So we wanted to update our facilities. Those who can use this software can access all information with the guidance of counsellors. Those who can't will learn about it,'' said Parihar.

Though 3% seats in every DU college are reserved for dis abled, most seats go vacant every year. Last year only 386 students had taken admission while the number of seats reserved for them was 1,200. This year the seats reserved for disabled has gone up to 1, 589 because of OBC quota. Parihar said, "We get a lot of visually– impaired children as they come in groups from the blind schools. They motivate each other and have a fighting spirit. But we want more disabled children to come for higher education.''

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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DU charts new course to open avenues for disabled students

Jun 03: One of the features that distinguishes Doordarshan from private news channels is a special news programme for persons with hearing disability: the anchor 'tells' news through sign languages, covering everything from politics to sports and the weather.

Though no other news channel gives such job opportunities, the Delhi University's Equal Opportunity Cell is working towards more hearing– impaired students getting the training needed for such work. The course starts this August.

Now, a new course on Mass Media ? News Reading and Anchoring ? is being introduced in Delhi University to teach students the expertise needed for such jobs in the media. Dr Nisha Singh, Officer on Special Duty at the Cell, says TV channels often do not realise that disabled students can also handle news and anchor shows equally adeptly. The Cell, she says, will invite people from the media industry to help create space for such students.

"We have to work towards the implementation of the 3–per cent reservation for disabled employees in the media industry once the courses begin," Singh says. "There is a large population of disabled persons whose requirements should be met by the media industry."

Established in 2006, the Equal Opportunity Cell encourages Delhi University colleges to be more disabled–friendly, and has over the past couple of years made efforts to get more disabled students into the university. Last year, the Cell introduced four courses ? in Sign Languages, Communicative English, Information and Communication Technology, and Human Rights and Disability.

This year, Singh says, the Cell is introducing courses in Braille reading and writing, and Mobility. The course on Braille is available for abled–category students as well, she says.

The course on Mobility will teach students how to effectively use their walking sticks to cross roads, how to get on buses using hand movements, and ways to use hearing–aids among others. The Cell plans to introduce the course in clusters so that two or three colleges share one centre of learning, Singh says.

All courses are of duration between four and five months and are part– time, so that they do not clash with regular classes. "Classes will be held after 2 pm at the Equal Opportunity Cell building in the North Campus," Singh says.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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Read–aloud software for visually impaired in DU

New Delhi, Jun 02:The Equal Opportunity Cell of Delhi University (DU) registered 13 disabled students on Monday. For the first time, the forms were read out to visually impaired students through JAWS software.

Deputy Dean of Students Welfare Seema Parihar said the forms had to be filled up manually. She added that the number of seats for disabled students had been increased to more than 1,500 this year, but like past years, there might not be enough students to fill all up. Handbooks for disabled students have also been introduced this year.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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A different canteen in Pune

PUNE, 2 Jun: There is nothing extraordinary that strikes the senses as one enters the Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering's (MSIHMC) canteen, till one realises it is run by a group of 11 girls and a boy with hearing and speech impairment.

The menu card has regular doses of tea, coffee, sandwiches, snacks, special samosas, chhole bhature and pav bhaji on offer. What is more than the regular here is that the spices used for preparing these dishes are also prepared by the girls.

Asked how she feels about being there, Sneha, one of the girls running the canteen, breaks into a smile. She nods her head vigorously and gives a thumbs–up sign, eyes alight with confidence. Her colleagues second her with similar expressions.

This group of young chefs–in–the–making is a part of a project funded by the Government of India for Persons With Disability (PWD), which falls under the purview of the ministry of human resources. The aim of the project is to launch disabled people into the social mainstream.

"There are many who are willing to train disabled people, but the difficult part is getting them jobs. Under this project, we aim to bring out the entrepreneur in them, since we plan to hand over the canteen to them completely," says Kalindi Bhatt, project officer and a senior lecturer, MSIHMC.

"They are not part of our regular course. This is a special six–month programme being run exclusively for disabled people," says Bhatt. The students are divided into three groups cooks, waiters and counter managers. The groups keep interchanging their roles every few weeks to learn all the nuances of hospitality.

A majority of the customers who come to the canteen are students of the institute. "We normally get around 100–120 customers everyday. The day's earnings are divided into four parts, out of which one goes to the college and the other three to the three different groups," she says.

Meanwhile, the hearing and speech impaired youth or the project managers have come up with a unique and easy way of communicating with customers. As one approaches the counter, one sees a white board with the day's menu written on it. And each dish is marked by a different colour. The person sitting at the counter will offer a box full of multi–coloured coins. You pick a coloured coin corresponding to the dish you want to have. And mind it, you cannot run away without paying. The group is good with remembering faces and will surely track you down the next time you come in!

And do the customers find it difficult to communicate with the canteen staff? "No, not at all. The coloured–coin system which they have devised to deal with customers has made it easy for us to communicate with them, " says Shekhar Dave (21), a regular customer.

Starting from the faculty and students to the alumni, everybody is enthusiastic about the project. Recently, noted chef Parag Kanhere, who an MSIHMC alumni, came to demonstrate a few recipes to these students. "They are brilliant, learn fast and are more creative than many of us. Their strength lies in the fact that they are more focused than normal students," says Kanhere.

Speaking about the teething troubles of the project, MSIHMC principal Ranjana Kayerkar says, "Since most of the students are girls, we had thought there would be complains like eve–teasing. But, till now, we have not faced any such troubles. The going has been smooth."

Says Kayerkar, "Last year, a similar course in animation was sponsored by the human resource ministry and many of the students are doing well in the field. I am very excited and emotionally attached to this project. I hope that it will be a success and the students will come out with flying colours."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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DU promises friendly admission process for disabled students

New Delhi: Disabled students seeking entry into Delhi University (DU) will not feel left out during this year's admission process with the institution putting in place trained volunteers and sign language experts to make it a hassle–free affair for them.

The authorities are taking several steps to make the admission process, starting from June 1, a 'disabled–friendly' affair, the University said.

To assist disabled students, the university is training a team of volunteers and teachers who will help candidates in completing their forms and formalities.

"To ensure best assistance for such students, a centre has been set up at the DSW office where they can purchase and deposit the admission forms as well as get counselling related to admissions," Dean Students' Welfare S K Vij told PTI.

Elaborate arrangements are being made for hearing and visually impaired students with authorities deploying a team of "highly trained" teachers and volunteers to help them.

A team of sign language experts and interpreters to help these students will also man various centers of the University to enable them get required information easily.

"We will have volunteers to assist the visually impaired students too.They will help in completing their forms which are also available in Braille," Vij said.

Source: http://www.hindu.com

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Car rally gives visually impaired a chance to drive

New Delhi: 15–year–old Manoj can't see. He doesn't know what Mathura Road or Sundar Nagar look like in the Capital. But while navigating a big car during the weekend, he knew exactly where both roads were and where they led to.

"I really enjoyed myself. I was given a paper in Braille that told me where all to go," Manoj said.

Speaking about the innovative car rally, actor Rahul Bose said, " Blind people are the navigators of this rally like one in a real rally but they are doing it with the help of Braille."

This Standard Chartered Blind Rally is a concept introduced for the visually impaired as an addition to the 'Seeing is Believing' campaign, an initiative that has restored the eyesight of millions. This rally was yet another addition to their relentless campaign.

"It helps build the confidence of the blind people. And it even opens up the mind of others towards the blind," Regional Chief Executive Officer for South and South East Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, Jaspal Bindra said.

The initiative aims at being able to help 20 million get eyesight by 2010.

The rally made the impossible come true for the visually impaired ? that of driving a car, at least partially.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com

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38 disabled students score above 90 percent in CBSE class 10 exam

New Delhi: Disabled students accounted for 38 out of the 47,821 who scored 90 percent and above in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 exams this year.

According to CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma, 1,681 disabled children – 264 blind, 154 deaf, 759 physically disabled, 40 spastic and 510 dyslexic children – sat for the class 10 board exams this year.

The pass percentage of disabled students was 90.12 percent, with the Chennai region performing the best with a pass percentage of 95.63 percent.

The pass percentage of disabled students of the Delhi region was 88.96 percent.

The class 10 CBSE results for three zones – Delhi, Guwahati and Allahabad – were declared Friday. The results of the Ajmer, Panchkula and Chennai regions had been declared Tuesday.

A total of 828,598 students – 343,467 girls and 485,131 boys – appeared for the CBSE class 10 exams in India and abroad this year.

Source: http://sify.com/news

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No teacher for over 10,000 disabled kids

New Delhi: In the National Capital, over 10,000 disabled students of the government and the MCD schools do not have a single teacher special enough to understand their world. None of the 650 Delhi government schools or 1,800 MCD schools employ a teacher specially trained to teach disabled students, though a government status report filed before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday identified 10,065 "children with special needs" studying in schools run by the Directorate of Education, the MCD and the NDMC. This despite a government report stating that the posts of 'special educators' were advertised almost six months back on December 26, 2008.

"Not a single educator, not a single facility is in place for disabled students, leave alone any infrastructure in these schools. We have to start from scratch," a Division Bench led by Chief Justice A P Shah observed after reading the government report in open court on Wednesday. Interestingly, the government agrees with the court while quoting that an "ideal situation would be having a special teacher in every school that disabled children are enrolled in".

The government admits that of the 10,065 disabled students, 7,523 need 1,505 special educators at a ration of 1:5. Again, the MCD alone has 2,087 disabled children in its schools.

A training programme for orienting 51,000 teachers in "inclusive education and various issues related to children with disabilities" in May and June 2009 remains a non–starter. The reason, the government says, was that teachers were deployed for the Lok Sabha elections.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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Railways to resume recruitment under disabled category

New Delhi (PTI) Thousands of disabled persons can now look forward for an employment opportunity with the country's largest government employer ––Railways–– after it submitted an affidavit in the Delhi High court in this regard.

The Railways have submitted a "tentative time frame for finalising special recruitment drive" to fill up backlog vacancies of physically disabled persons" in group C and D posts along with the top most group A.

The special recruitment drive, to be completed in 19 months, would initially fill up 4,254 backlog vacancies for disabled persons as per requirements of the "Persons with Disabilities Act 1995."

The Railways, in its affidavit filed on May 26, has also said that it will fill up the backlog vacancies in the non–technical posts of Indian Railway Personnel Service and Indian Railway Accounts Service with 50 per cent seats being filled up this year and the rest in the next year.

The case date backs to 2005 when a social organisation, All India Confederation of the Blind, filed a PIL in Delhi High Court requesting it to direct the Railways to comply with the disabilities Act and recruit physically challenged persons according to stipulated norms of keeping three per cent seats for them.

Source: http://www.hindu.com

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Home Secretary directs officials to fill up vacancies for disabled people in UT departments

Chandigarh: A meeting with various departments to fill up vacancies for disabled candidates was held under the chairmanship of UT Home Secretary Ram Niwas on Wednesday. It was learnt that there are nearly 228 vacancies in various categories.

The Home Secretary directed officials to clear the backlog on top priority basis. According to the departments, they have already advertised for 68 posts for disabled people. Niwas directed the departments to submit an affidavit by June 15 regarding the pending posts in various departments and of the action taken by them to fill up the vacancies. It was directed that under no circumstance, vacancies meant for disabled candidates should be filled up from the General category and any violation in this regard would be viewed seriously.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Allahabad University to help disabled students in getting higher education

ALLAHABAD: Disabled students, aspiring to pursue higher studies from Allahabad University (AU), have a reason to smile as varsity authorities have come out with various initiates that would enhance the facilities being extended to such students.

Constitution of a medical board is foremost among such initiatives wherein such a board would be endorsing the level of disability of a disabled candidate who aspires for pursuing UG course from AU. The best part would be that this board would examine such cases prior to the commencement of the counselling for undergraduate courses and the list of such candidates would be finalised so as to facilitate the candidate in choosing the right combination of subjects, at the time of counselling.

As per earlier practice the board examined such students after the admission of UG courses were over. Because of this practice these candidates were not able to get prime subjects of their choice and as a result they opted to withdraw from AU leaving the seats vacant.

Apart from constitution of a medical board, varsity authorities have decided that such disabled students would be allocated rooms in various hostels, if they prefer for the same. One attendant would also be accommodated with them which would help out these students in attending the lectures and getting the study material. Now, since the list would be prepared beforehand these students would also stand in chance in getting the prime subjects and fulfil their dreams.

A separate cell, under the guidance of two faculty members, Dr Sanjeev from the department of Political Science and Dr SP Tiwari from department of Botany, has started functioning at AU which is extending all possible help to such students. The cell is preparing vital data related with such students of studying at AU.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Hearing impaired student scores 92%

MUMBAI: Priyanka Patil's story makes a great argument for integrated education. Despite the fact that she was born with a hundred percent hearing loss, her parents insisted on enrolling her at a regular school and not a special one. The gamble paid off. Priyanka, a student of R N Podar School, Santa Cruz, scored a whopping 92% in the CBSE exams – no mean feat for any student, let alone a child with a disability.

Priyanka's hearing disability did not come in the way of her attending regular classes or making friends. "I would advise parents of children like Priyanka to enroll their kids at a regular school. That's the best way for them to pick up normal habits from their peers,'' said Priyanka's father, Nagesh.

Priyanka has studied at R N Podar from Class II to X. "Each teacher has devised his or her individual method of communicating with Priyanka. For instance, the English teacher often enacts certain things in the classroom so that Priyanka can understand them,'' said Priya Gopal, the secondary school co–ordinator. Priyanka herself is good at lip–reading, a skill that helps her understand what's going on in class.

In addition to support from the school, Priyanka's mother, too, had put in a lot of effort teaching her the English language with the help of pictures, when she was very young.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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