8th September is celebrated as international literacy day across nations. United Nation’s Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared in 1996 that 8th September will be celebrated as international literacy day, and the first international literacy day was celebrated in the following year. Today, the world is celebrating fifty second international literacy day and India is not lacking any behind in celebrations. On 5th September, which is celebrated as teacher’s day, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi said that role ofteachers in nation building is paramount. But when it comes to ground realities of policy implementation for the eradication of illiteracy, the excitement in celebration does not match the realities of implementation.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kid-moon, on the eve of the International Literacy Day, emphasized “Literacy stands at heart of the 2030 Agenda,” and said, "It is a foundation for human rights,gender equality, and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote well-being for all people. That is why the Sustainable Development Goals aim for universal access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout people's lives." However, it is saddening to know that a latest UNESCO report indicates that if India is to meet its global education commitments, it would be 50 years behind in achieving the goal.
According to the report, "thecountry needs fundamental changes in the education system if it wantsto meet the 2030 sustainable development goals." This statement assumes importance when referred to findings of thedraft National Policy on Education 2016 released by the HRD Ministry appointed Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy headed by chairman TSR Subramanian. The report finds that the state ofeducation system in the country is rather deplorable and its existing realities are alarming. According to the report, though the literacy rate has shown considerable improvement since the time of Independence, continuing inequity, and the poor quality of education, remains some of the disturbing impediments.
When it comes to the literacy among the visually impaired individuals in India, these impediments are evidently visible. While India is the home for largest population of visually impaired individuals globally, the challenges faced by the visually impaired children in access to basic literacy are very discouraging. In case of primary education of any visually impaired child, the challenges liein various inter-dependent factors. They exist in infrastructure, awareness and overall social attitude towards visually impaired population.
At times, when a visually impaired child is born in a family, the parents are not aware about how should they go about getting the child educated. Leave alone the awareness about assistive technology, they do not know about Braille books or special schools for the visually impaired. This lack of awareness greatly results in illiteracy among the visually impaired. Or even if the parents come to know about facilities like special schools for the visually impaired, by then, the child has already fallen behind other peers by few years.
At school, lack of awareness among the teachers about teaching visually impaired students presents practical difficulties. There are not many special educators who are trained to teach visually impaired students.When it comes to infrastructure, the present conditions are not very satisfactory at the grass root levels. From the elementary level, needsand requirements of the visually impaired students are not taken into consideration. May it be about maps, diagrams or any objects, thevisually impaired students are not provided with alternate tactile models. Consequently, visually impaired students do miss out on someof the information which could be made available by making small changes in the existing infrastructure.
Other challenge that causes anincreasing drop in the literacy level among the visually impaired students is the availability of Braille books. The traditional hard copy books are expensive, bulky and difficult to avail. There is alot of human effort involved in making of the Braille books. Sometimes,the embossed Braille books reaches to the student after the examinations are over.
Plus, dependency on writers is also one of the biggest challenge. At times,even if the student is all prepared for the exam, he or she has to miss the exam because there is no writer available to write. Lastly, the overall attitude of the society towards the visually impaired individuals goes a long way in facilitating the further increase in illiteracy among the visually impaired students. Despite programs for inclusive education, if the attitudes and mind-sets are exclusive at the core, then we won’t be able to see any progress in spread ofliteracy among the visually impaired community. In order to provide equal opportunities of literacy to the visually impaired students, the government, societies and the whole system should first consider the visually impaired students as contributing section of the country.
Every coming day, technology is making lives easier for the visually impaired individuals. But there is a vicious cycle which does not allow the visually impaired individuals to actually benefit from the technological advancements. Technological solutions are available which are not affordable to the visually impaired individuals. This is because a lot of visually impaired individuals are living below poverty line, and the government does not see the need to provide subsidies. They survive by hawking in the local trains, or some of them beg to earn food. And the reason for their poverty is in their unemployment, which is directly linked with illiteracy. In this way,illiteracy lies at the root of this on-going vicious cycle, making the visually impaired individuals appear as someone to be pitied, someone at the mercy of alms or charity.
Today, on this fifty second international literacy day, Innovision wants to express its vision for the spread of literacy among the visually impaired individuals across countries through its product“BrailleMe”. BrailleMe is not just a Braille display, but it aims at helping the visually impaired get back their dignity and self-respect which they all rightfully deserve. It is a means to eradicate illiteracy, defeat the mighty arms of unemployment, and thereby exit the vicious cycle of misery. Innovision wishes all the visually impaired individuals a very happy literacy day, and commits to continue working towards making this day even more meaningful.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kid-moon, on the eve of the International Literacy Day, emphasized “Literacy stands at heart of the 2030 Agenda,” and said, "It is a foundation for human rights,gender equality, and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote well-being for all people. That is why the Sustainable Development Goals aim for universal access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout people's lives." However, it is saddening to know that a latest UNESCO report indicates that if India is to meet its global education commitments, it would be 50 years behind in achieving the goal.
According to the report, "thecountry needs fundamental changes in the education system if it wantsto meet the 2030 sustainable development goals." This statement assumes importance when referred to findings of thedraft National Policy on Education 2016 released by the HRD Ministry appointed Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy headed by chairman TSR Subramanian. The report finds that the state ofeducation system in the country is rather deplorable and its existing realities are alarming. According to the report, though the literacy rate has shown considerable improvement since the time of Independence, continuing inequity, and the poor quality of education, remains some of the disturbing impediments.
When it comes to the literacy among the visually impaired individuals in India, these impediments are evidently visible. While India is the home for largest population of visually impaired individuals globally, the challenges faced by the visually impaired children in access to basic literacy are very discouraging. In case of primary education of any visually impaired child, the challenges liein various inter-dependent factors. They exist in infrastructure, awareness and overall social attitude towards visually impaired population.
At times, when a visually impaired child is born in a family, the parents are not aware about how should they go about getting the child educated. Leave alone the awareness about assistive technology, they do not know about Braille books or special schools for the visually impaired. This lack of awareness greatly results in illiteracy among the visually impaired. Or even if the parents come to know about facilities like special schools for the visually impaired, by then, the child has already fallen behind other peers by few years.
At school, lack of awareness among the teachers about teaching visually impaired students presents practical difficulties. There are not many special educators who are trained to teach visually impaired students.When it comes to infrastructure, the present conditions are not very satisfactory at the grass root levels. From the elementary level, needsand requirements of the visually impaired students are not taken into consideration. May it be about maps, diagrams or any objects, thevisually impaired students are not provided with alternate tactile models. Consequently, visually impaired students do miss out on someof the information which could be made available by making small changes in the existing infrastructure.
Other challenge that causes anincreasing drop in the literacy level among the visually impaired students is the availability of Braille books. The traditional hard copy books are expensive, bulky and difficult to avail. There is alot of human effort involved in making of the Braille books. Sometimes,the embossed Braille books reaches to the student after the examinations are over.
Plus, dependency on writers is also one of the biggest challenge. At times,even if the student is all prepared for the exam, he or she has to miss the exam because there is no writer available to write. Lastly, the overall attitude of the society towards the visually impaired individuals goes a long way in facilitating the further increase in illiteracy among the visually impaired students. Despite programs for inclusive education, if the attitudes and mind-sets are exclusive at the core, then we won’t be able to see any progress in spread ofliteracy among the visually impaired community. In order to provide equal opportunities of literacy to the visually impaired students, the government, societies and the whole system should first consider the visually impaired students as contributing section of the country.
Every coming day, technology is making lives easier for the visually impaired individuals. But there is a vicious cycle which does not allow the visually impaired individuals to actually benefit from the technological advancements. Technological solutions are available which are not affordable to the visually impaired individuals. This is because a lot of visually impaired individuals are living below poverty line, and the government does not see the need to provide subsidies. They survive by hawking in the local trains, or some of them beg to earn food. And the reason for their poverty is in their unemployment, which is directly linked with illiteracy. In this way,illiteracy lies at the root of this on-going vicious cycle, making the visually impaired individuals appear as someone to be pitied, someone at the mercy of alms or charity.
Today, on this fifty second international literacy day, Innovision wants to express its vision for the spread of literacy among the visually impaired individuals across countries through its product“BrailleMe”. BrailleMe is not just a Braille display, but it aims at helping the visually impaired get back their dignity and self-respect which they all rightfully deserve. It is a means to eradicate illiteracy, defeat the mighty arms of unemployment, and thereby exit the vicious cycle of misery. Innovision wishes all the visually impaired individuals a very happy literacy day, and commits to continue working towards making this day even more meaningful.
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