Braille breaks barriers to science, state declares new rules, ETEducation
Ahmedabad: Sujal Dudhrejiya, 16, a native of Bhavnagar, is learning the concept of calculating the area of a cone at the newly opened maths and science lab at the Minnie Cama Secondary & Higher Secondary School for the Blind, located at the Blind People’s Association (BPA) in the city.
A Class 10 student, he is among the four this year of the 20-odd students of Class 10 who opted for maths as a subject. Nikita Patel, a teacher at the school, says that the rest of the students opt for music. “The students find mathematics difficult, primarily in understanding some concepts. Thus, we have to devise novel ways to teach it,” she says.
Dudhrejiya says, “I want to be a software engineer or a coder. For those courses, mathematics is a prerequisite.” Dudhrejiya adds, “I would not say that it is one of the easiest subjects, but it is not the toughest either. We learn about shapes, radius, area, etc, through deconstructing the models.” As Jan 4 is celebrated as Braille Day to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, who devised the coding method for alphabets and numbers for the visually impaired, the organizations working with the blind are pointing to a silent change.
More students are opting for mathematics, something which was out of bounds due to difficulty in teaching and explanation. On the other hand, the number of students with visual impairment opting for the Class 12 science stream also saw a slow but steady rise.
A notification by the state education department dated Dec 22 last indicated students could opt for more than one writer for subjects and use a computer. “The move is to ensure that candidates with disabilities can appear for the exam,” said a senior official.
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