General News
City-based NGO to start Braille computer training school
VADODARA: Visually impaired people in the city can soon get to work with information technology firms. A city-based NGO's Braille computer training school to be inaugurated in March will educate and provide training to these people. It is one of the four schools in the country to be recognised by department of information and technology, Government of India.
This school is first to be started in the state with Central recognition and is being set up by Sevatirth that works towards vocational rehabilitation of the disabled. The school will offer wide range of ITI and IT courses free of cost to class X passouts.
"We will start with a batch of 10 students. They will be educated and trained to operate specially designed computer for visually impaired. It is a speaking computer with a writer and special keyboard. The school will conduct one-year course with residential facilities to the students," said Sevatirth founder Purushottam Panchal.
Panchal said the Central government plans to open 60 such schools in the country. "In the first phase, recognition has been given to only four NGOs to start such schools. In Gujarat, our NGO was selected after they inspected our campus last year. We will conduct Braille computer IT courses so that the visually impaired become employable," added Panchal, who was conferred with national award as the best placement officer for the disabled in 2008 by the department of social justice and empowerment, Government of India.
"During the award ceremony, I met many officials and invited them to visit my NGO in the city. When they came and saw the work we were doing, they discussed the idea of starting a computer training school for the visually impaired. I suggested that we can start the same at our campus. After a year of paper work, we finally got the approval. This school will be immensely helpful as the industry is willing to employ the visually impaired IT professionals. We are hopeful that many disabled will get to earn their living in the coming months," Panchal said.
Additional Information
Country: India
Website: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/City-based-NGO-to-start-Braille-computer-training-school/articleshow/5546050.cms
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Source: Mail from: MORI Soya
When: 20/2/2010
