19/10/2023
I would like to share the story of a visually impaired student, the blind student from Tamil Nadu who completed a diploma in computer science 💻 - RjSundhar S
In his success story, He mentioned how our Let's Record Initiative team supported him during his studies. He also acknowledged the continuous efforts of Deepalakshmi Iyer ma'am and how they coordinated with him many times.
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/QjlAFYrSDY8?si=z9QUX7ULEKyOjqqM
*His story in his words:*
Hello everyone, my name is , I am a visually impaired student living in district of . As of now no visually impaired student in Tamil Nadu has studied diploma or diploma in computer science engineering i.e Till March 2023. In above video I explained how I studied, how I got admission, how I wrote all the exams, how I came out with flying colours ~92% without any arrears.
I was affected by retina detachment since 2017. I was in treatment for two years. In the end, nothing helped in treatment, but only education gave a helping hand. I completed my 10th standard in a school for the blind called The Indian Association Special School for the in .
My dream was to study for a diploma and enter the engineering field. But many people said that we can't take automobile because of our eyesight. Well, the only course we could take in the diploma was computer science engineering. So I started looking for a college for that. I asked many in Coimbatore no one came forward to give me admission. I asked many colleges in Erode district and some colleges refused to give me a seat. But finally a college said that they will give me admission that was Kongu Polytechnic College which is in Perundurai, Erode district.
Before admission they asked me to explain how I would study. I went there and explained to them. As a way of showing respect for my talent and skill, they admitted me to their college and gave me an opportunity. I decided to use that opportunity and study well.
When I started reading, I touched all the books. All the books were very big books. They were like guides. There were almost 200 to 300 pages. There were not only computer books but also many books related to electronics and chemistry too. My focus was on how to read these books and how to do practicals, and I got worried.
It was at that time that I got in touch with a WhatsApp group of Vargshikshak - LET’S RECORD) with a network of volunteers across India.
Let's record Initiative came as a very big help. Mrs. Deepalakshmi Iyer is a coordinator volunteer of Let's record organization in Tamilnadu. I told them clearly that I need recordings of books before 2 months of every semester exam and fortunately the recorded all the books for me and uploaded them to google drive. People from different parts of India recorded books for me. (Snehal, Vimala, Jayasri, Deepalakshmi, Sri Vidhya, Bharathi, Deepa, Sri hari, Devi). For practicals, writing record notes, writing assignments, writing seminars, many volunteers from Let's Record have helped me a lot.
For those who are disabled While writing their semester exams there are some weird rules. The scribes who can write the exam should have studied one step lower than the differently abled and that the scribes must have their 10th class original TC and mark sheet. One of the most difficult rules is the above one by the Directorate of Technical Education, which is the directorate of all the polytechnic colleges in Tamilnadu. Because of these hard and fast rules, I had a hard time in every semester exam finding people with original TC. It is very difficult to find such scribes. We told the flying squards who came to colleges for semester exams that we have xerox, but they talk very harshly and swear and even marked me absent once for an exam. I wrote the exam every semester with so much hardship, but finally a good scribe from Coimbatore district helped me and told me that if there are many more differently abled people like you who are willing to study for diploma, then I am ready to come and write the exam for them. With the help of good souls I have been able to achieve my dream of *DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING* and my college gave me a special award for it.
Many people may think that the college itself can arrange for scribe to write exam on behalf of the college, yes they also took many efforts and it was very difficult for them also to find such scribes. All these problems came only for the theory exam. There is no problem like this for method exam, we have to take permission to type for it.
Many colleges say that Visually impaired should only study History, Economics, Tamil English or law and avoid all other courses. But, a diploma course in computers was my decision and I accepted all challenges and overcame them, thanks to all those who were with me giving support in my journey. And yes with a little support the visually impaired can excel in all fields.
Now Online education has also been brought in by UGC. Through it, we can pay fees without going to college, attend classes, write exams and pass from our home. I found that the uniqueness of this is that we don't need to go to our college even once. We can complete our studies from home. I have told you a new thing. Next, in terms of career, I have wanted to become a radio jockey for a long time. I have knocked on the doors of many radio stations for that. Till date, no doors have been opened to me but has given me a slot for tamil RJaying on all Mondays, for that Thanks to .
I heard that there is not enough space for our blind people in the radio industry. I want to be an example for the blind to succeed in the radio industry for sighted people. Lastly If you have any doubts about ODL for visually impaired (online distance learning), Feel free to contact me by going to the ID on Instagram page and message me otherwise you can also contact me through my email [email protected] wishing you all the best and thanks for watching the video.
*Hope it inspires someone!!!*
