CBSE To Provide Visual Aids For Impaired From 2020

Recently CBSE has declared important news for the fraction of students who are visually impaired and currently studying in CBSE schools. The CBSE Board had declared a series of the roadmap so as to make the mainstream education easily accessible for them.

From the year 2020, students suffering from visual impairments can use the magnifying glasses and various types of portable video magnifiers during their Class 10^th exams. This is the official announcement in the CBSE’s words which says an “Alternative-type of questions will be given to the students in lieu of the questions which are having the visual inputs for visually impaired candidates in social science. It will be given effect from 2020, in lieu of large-font question papers, candidates will be allowed to use magnifying glasses/portable video magnifiers”. This particular move by CBSE will give more avenues for the visually impaired people. The above views are shared by Divya Sharma, who was mandated to go for the home schooling from Class 8 when no schools in her hometown was providing the education to visually impaired child. In an interview taken of a teacher in Punjab named Naya Nangal, who would like to teach a visually impaired child said that “This new step was announced by the CBSE will not help someone who is blind but will certainly bring relief to low vision people like me”, that she was herself affected with glaucoma in childhood and knows the pain of leaving education forcefully. “It reduces the dependency on scribes or writers and is a good step to that extent too.” Experts thinks that it will be followed by more steps in future to make various subjects accessible, especially science and math’s. While the gadgets mentioned by CBSE are not cheap so it is one of the perspective that how many students will be able to afford them? Vidhya Y, a visually impaired topper from the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIITB) says. “Those who can afford these devices will use them. That even if one or two students who are not financially well and are not able to purchase it the whole country is able to, but it can be termed as a step forward“. While further she says agrees that this is a step forward in the right direction but more options should be made available for the visually impaired students.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://m.timesofindia.com/city/delhi/visual-aids-for-disabled-cbse-kids-from-2020/amp_articleshow/68929185.cms