DU making all out efforts to ease life for differently-abled students

Delhi University is providing high-tech mobile phones, equipped up with special applications, for visually impaired students. Moreover, differently-abled students are being provided with ‘Plextalk’, a pocket recorder with FM and a scanner, which helps differently-abled students to scan their academics books.

For differently-abled students, the University is providing numerous facilities to improve their academic performance. A Java Programming tool for students with visual disabilities has already been installed in computers in several colleges. Ramps and tactile tracks have already been built in the campus of almost all colleges.

There is also an Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) in the Arts faculty, which acts as a helping hand for differentlyabled students. The main aim of EOC is to ensure no discrimination takes place in the University on grounds of disability or minority status.

Moqbul, a differently-abled student in Shivaji College, says: “The large number of facilities provided by the varsity towards differently-abled students helped me a lot. My academic performance in the college is much better compared to my school performance.”

However, there have been some hiccups as well. Showing their scepticism, some differently-abled students said that the varsity may be providing various facilities but not taking care of them properly. Some said that the faculty in some colleges also do not provide sufficient study materials to differently-abled students. “So, all these facilities are not fully satisfying to students like me,” said a differently-abled student, who chose to be anonymous.

A differently-abled student in Kirori Mal College said: “If normal students are getting four notes, then the differentlyabled students get a soft copy of only one note. Even after complaining about this issue to the college faculty or administrative department, they (differently-abled students) are not getting the soft notes in time.”