Hi vikas, thanks for this informative mail. I appritiate your eferts but i want to say something sory if i am wrong. My request is when you are doing so much then please do little bit more. I mean inform concern persons regularly that what is going own through medium of your choice. After all, genrating awearness is very important for convert these demands into reallty. We must insure that students should not be satisfied whith these lolypops. Whith best regard kapil email kapil0...@gmail.com facebook i.d kapil.mitt...@facebook.com mobile 09013386781
-original message- Subject: Re: [AI] Listen guys: DU announces foreign trip for students with disabilities From: Vikas Gupta <vikas...@gmail.com> Date: 06/12/2012 7:55 am Dear Accessindia Group Members: Excuse me for strong words I am going to use in this mail. Shocking and disturbing is my experience to read this mail from such a sincere student like avinash. I request him to overcome his initial enthusiasm and revisit these announcements as a well-informed research scholar; and above all, as an awair blind fellow. I also request other members of this group to think on this matter. How can we fail to see the larger scenario of Delhi University continuously denying disabled their rights and only proposing these measures to sideline are real issues? Have you not read those stories in the newspapers showing how blind students faced difficulties in exams? Even in the last meeting of the Faculty of Social Sciences, we the teachers (where I was the only disabled) agreed to send a letter to VC pointing out University’s failure to provide accessible infrastructure as per the legal requirement. How can we disregard the struggle of blind students of Delhi University that they organized last year? Are we still living in a world where charity and not the rights matter? Secondly, why do our blind friends fail to see what is happening in general in the field of education where every institution of social justice is being dismantled and privatized and linked with foreign funding, which is also evident from the press release that I had sent in my other mail and to which unfortunately no one at this group responded as if it does not matter to them. If everything is made market oriented and dependent on world capital, only disabled are being given these charities, would it not imply the continuation of our secondary standard ? Is it not another effort to perpetuate foreign mania at the cost of denying our fundamental rights? The teachers and students of Delhi University have been fighting for long against these changes; and many disabled are also a part of these struggles. They have even sat on a relay hunger strike which continued for 53 days. However, the insensitive and undemocratic attitude continues. Let us understand the politics of these reforms. They are of course an indication that public money will be wasted rather than being employed to fulfill the accessibility requirements. Secondly, they are an attempt to gain media attention so that the focus may be shifted from the real grievances that students and teachers have been struggling against. Thirdly, in my opinion, it is also an attempt to divide our struggle, because Sambhavana Organization has prepared a detailed representation after listening the views of disabled teachers and students and many of the issues on which VC and OSD have made announcements were already their but in a different context to enrich disabled academically. They have been turned over in to something else. Let me give you two examples. We were demanding for two hostels and we were asking University to give special or adequate attention to the needs of disabled researchers enabling them to attend national and international seminars. You compare these demands with the announcements and the difference will be apparent. Though DU VC had himself asked as to prepare a representation, but when it is submitted in his office, despite repeated reminders, he is not organizing a proper public meeting. Now he is showing a fudal benevolent attitude. Do we want this or fulfillment of our rights? I have a lot to say, but due to a variety of reasons, I am restraining myself here. Anyone may organize a discussion and I am prepared to elaborate there what I have written above. Else, I would only respond to subsequent responses on this thread to the extent possible. Most probably, Delhi University disabled students and teachers will be meeting on coming Saturday to discuss about the ways of carrying forward the struggle. Perhaps, these announcements are another attempt to discourage disabled students and teachers from attending this meeting. However, I would like to familiarize you with their main issues. For this, I am pasting below a long charter of demands already submitted to DU VC many times, but he is paying no heed to this. In fact, he has refused to meet them. Ref/Sam/2012/121 Dated:18/09/2012 To The Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007. Sub: Representation on the Issues of Disabled Students and Teachers. Dear Sir, In this representation on the afore-mentioned subject, prepared after detailed consultations with disabled students, teachers and the groups/organizations working on disability issues, we would like to once again draw your attention to various long pending pertinent matters. However, before listing these matters, we would like to underline with grief that apart from sending various representations and delegations to your predecessor, many of these issues have also been repeatedly brought to your kind notice in three regular AC meetings of 8th July 2011, 9th October 2011 and 21st march 2012. Besides this, we have also tried to bring these issues to the notice of the University through earlier representations of Sambhavana Organization. With a deep sense of disappointment and despair, we would like to underline that nothing concrete has happened on these issues till date and disabled teachers and students continue to feel left out in the University community. We have been wondering about the available mechanism of our grievance redressal if our issues are paid no heed by the University authorities. (A.) Enabling Units In most of the colleges and University Departments/Faculties, Enabling Units which are provided by UGC in the 11th plan have either not been constituted or have been mostly non-functional. This is a serious hurdle in the implementation of the provisions intended to address the problems related with Disability and it is thereby constraining the participation of disabled in the University community. In those Colleges where these units have been constituted, the administration is not cooperating to provide required resources. In most cases, disabled teachers and students are kept in dark of the existence of enabling units and are deprived of their much needed participation in these bodies. Moreover, enabling units at the Departmental level have not been formed at all. We therefore urge you to direct all the Colleges and Departments to abide by the sanctioned provisions and cooperate in this matter. After due consultations, the disabled students and teachers of this University have suggested the following tasks that Enabling Units should perform in order to ensure equal, accessible and quality education to such persons. 1. Books and other study materials in accessible formats to students and faculty; 2. Reading service to students and faculty; 3. Writers for persons with blindness or low vision and maintain a scribe bank; 4. Editing and correction of scanned study materials; 5. Assistive technology and solutions technical support to normal faculty to make their teaching method and handouts accessible to all students including students with disabilities; 6. Provide /coordinate/advise making college, building, class rooms, labs, toilet, office, fitments, library and all infrastructure and services accessible to all persons with disabilities; 7. Study renovation to see that new changes are adding to accessibility to persons with disabilities; 8. Provide training to Students or Faculty /staff with disabilities in use of assistive technology; 9. Organize sensitization programs for entire staff and students of college on disability issues; 10. Provide basic assistive technology which could be used by Students and Faculty for their reading and writing needs; 11. Create a pool of sign language interpreters; 12. Ensure participation of persons with disabilities in all activities including sports, seminars and other academic and extracurricular activities; 13. Provide support to persons with disabilities to borrow books from library; 14. Provide facility for students to write their examinations using computers equipped with assistive technology; 15. Arrange for accessible transport. We are herewith attaching a list of equipments that every Enabling Unit should possess. We therefore request you to take this matter with the colleges and University Departments, and if required with other Government bodies, such as UGC in order to plan and execute a time-bound and effective action plan in this regard. (B.) Issues Regarding Exam Writing Policy for Disabled Students and Exam Scripts Reading Policy for Disabled Teachers: 1. Though it is a matter of immense pleasure that DU could ultimately adopt a more progressive Exam Writing Policy for Disabled Students, however, till date, it has not framed any such policy with regard to the evaluation of exam scripts by the disabled teachers. Unfortunately, this has become a matter of grave concern for us as because of the absence of proper University guidelines and owing to the generally prevalent insensitive attitude of the University and college staff, many disabled colleagues have been humiliated, insulted, discriminated and discouraged from discharging their duties in the recent past. Some of these cases we have brought to your notice a couple of months ago and your intervention could no doubt ensure relief in their particular instances. However, a proper systemic change still awaits. 2. Even with regard to the implementation of the Exam Writing Policy for Disabled Students, we have observed two trends. Many of the colleges/University Departments/Faculties/Centers are not aware of this policy and none is fully prepared till date to implement it. (C.) Updation and implementation of access audit reports: Through the EOC, University had conducted access audit of almost every College and University Campus. More than 4 years have elapsed, but nothing concrete has resulted as these reports have not been implemented. In fact, with time and infrastructural changes, and increased level of awareness, these reports call for fresh consultation and implementation with urgency and dispatch. Otherwise, the huge sum of money, human effort and time spent on conducting these access audits will be wasted. It is all the more regretting to find this because Colleges have not implemented these reports though under the OBC expansion plan, they have received huge additional sum of money to upgrade infrastructure. (D.) Problem of Hindi Medium Disabled Students: 1. Problem of the students in Hindi medium in general and students with visual disability in particular, is very serious. There is a dearth of material in Hindi medium in all subjects. This problem is additionally pathetic for visually impaired as there is very less material in accessible format in Hindi for them. It is essential that books and material in Hindi should be provided to all Hindi medium students and in accessible format particularly in Unicode (as well as in the audio format and Braille) to the visually impaired which is in accordance with the Government of India norms. 2. It has also been observed that there are departments which do not entertain Hindi medium students at all in the sphere of higher education and research. For instance, the Department of Social Works does not allow students to write the exam/test or dissertation/thesis in Hindi. This problem becomes more adverse for the persons with disabilities as a large number of them come from the Hindi medium background. Such a practice is not only the denial of their equal right to receive education but also a violation of the rules and norms of Delhi University which otherwise claims to have taken care of the needs and aspirations of the Hindi medium students. (E.) Need for Creating an Online Pool of Accessible Reading Material: We request you to upload the reading materials (both Hindi and English) on a specifically dedicated website accessible only through the University/college server (as is the case with University provided softwares and journals) and to give passwords to disabled students so that they can access it from their respective locations as well. In the light of the recent amendments in the copyright laws, you may explore the possibility whether such material should be available only for online-reading, or that the users may also download it. It is after all for their personal, and not professional use. (F.) Lack of Proper Accommodation Facilities: Though we welcome your recent announcements about fee concession, you would agree that it is going to resolve the accommodation problem of only a few disabled students. It is a much wider and more serious problem for Disabled students as there is no hostel provided by University to accommodate them. Since most of such students come from weaker economic background, living in PG or on Private accommodation becomes unaffordable. Situation of the Disabled Girls is additionally vulnerable in this case. We, therefore strongly request on behalf of the Disabled students that there should be at least two hostels one for boys and one for girls with 300 seats in each and where no less than 60 % seats should be filled on preferential basis from the students with Disabilities. Such a hostel should meet the accessibility standards and be on the notion of inclusive environment. (G.) Scholarships and Reader Allowance for Disabled Teachers and Students: 1. To meet the expense of College fee and Hostel charges, it is essential that Scholarships should be provided for all the needy and poor students with Disabilities. Additionally, it is equally essential to provide allowance for vision impaired students to enable them to meet the expenses that they have to incur on getting the services of readers. 2. As per the present arrangement, only 25 percent non-NET scholars registered for M.Phil/Ph.D. programmes in Delhi University get fellowship. However, we would like to request you to ensure that all disabled are preferentially included in the scholars selected for this fellowship. In other words, all disabled scholars doing M.Phil or Ph.D. should be provided non-NET fellowship. This is also the pattern in some other central universities, such as JNU. 3. We would like to bring to your kind notice that the VH teachers of Delhi University are facing various kinds of problems in availing the UGC Financial Assistance/Reader Allowance. Therefore, you are requested to streamline the system and the procedure by removing the existing anomalies. (H.) Additional Classes: The need of additional learning support is as essential for Disabled as for the other weaker sections of the society. As per the Merged Scheme of UGC, there is a provision of “remedial classes” for all the weaker sections apart from Disabled, however, the PWD Act (1995) provides the same to disabled as well. We therefore urge that extra classes to provide additional learning support for disabled students should be started with immediate effect. University should also take up this matter with UGC to get it included in the merged scheme. (I.) Use of Students’ Welfare Fund for the Benefit of Disabled Students: The students Welfare Fund is never utilized for the benefit of the disabled students in most of the Colleges. Wherever it has been utilized, it is not done on time. Immediate steps are needed to resolve this issue by sensitizing people that disabled students are also part of the students at large. (J.) Promotion of Inclusive Sports and Co-Curricular Activities: 1. Though quite a lot of it is exclusive, the equal Opportunity Cell(EOC) of DU has been organizing the sports activities for the persons with disabilities annually for the past 3-4 years. But apart from that, there does not occur any sporting activity any where in DU for such persons. Therefore we feel that there is an urgent need to expand this by including more inclusive sport activities every year in an appropriate manner at the level of EOC, Enabling Units and the Sports Department of the University. University may allocate more fund to do this and in fact some portion of the fund available for students sports might also be utilized for this purpose. 2. The state of even other co-curricular activities for disabled in DU is extremely worrisome. There is no functioning mechanism to promote such activities among disabled students in the university and affiliated colleges in an inclusive environment. Therefore we feel that the University should take strong and concrete steps to promote co-curricular activities for Disabled. One way of sensitizing colleges about this issue could be to ask them to maintain a diversity register of their co-curricular activities. In fact, this diversity register may be (and should be) maintained in such a manner that includes the membership of every committee to be constituted from amongst the teachers, students or non-teaching staff in order to ensure equal participation and representation in every activity not just the co-curricular events. (K) Regarding the Akash Tablet for Students: Recently, a drive to register the students for the distribution of Akash Tablet has been started by MHRD. Unfortunately, these Tablets are not at all accessible to the Persons with Visual Disability. It is therefore very essential that such machines/equipments should be made accessible and compatible with the screen readers before starting such drive. We earnestly feel that the University should think of issuing netbooks to these students as these may serve as one composite aid to perform many educational tasks. Such netbooks could be kept in the EOC, Delhi University or at the enabling units of all the Colleges and should be issued to disabled students till they complete their exams. This step of the University would act as a great measure to build infrastructure for disabled and many similar steps should be taken in this direction. (L) Inaccessible Websites: The website of DU and colleges are not fully accessible through screen reading softwares as they do not meet the standards or international guidelines of accessibility approved by National Informatics Centre and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment so that vision impaired users might use them independently. Though not limited to, but this is particularly problematic with the Hindi pages of our websites. (M) Making disability a part of the curriculum: Disability as a perspective is totally missing in the curriculum of courses. Leave apart the requirement of establishing a Disability Study Center in Delhi University, even these newly drafted syllabi of Political-Science, English and Hindi Literature, History, Sociology, Economics and Social Works etc completely exclude disability component and perspective. Hence, another generation of DU pass-outs in the 21st century will remain ignorant of the issue of disability. It is all the more appalling for an academic institution of the stature of DU to underestimate the significance of this discipline when other (newly coming up) universities, UGC, NCERT and CBSE have been actively designing modules on disability and including them in their curriculum. Therefore it is urgently required that DU administration takes serious and necessary steps to meet this objective. (N) Non-Maintenance and Non-Adherence to PH Roster on Ad hock and Permanent Posts: It is quite tormenting that despite many interventions from civil society and judiciary, Delhi University and its colleges have till date not been able to complete the process of making and adhering to the 100 point PH roster for teaching and non-teaching posts. Even the rosters that have been prepared are not put in the public domain i.e. website. This intransient behavior of Colleges and Departments of DU is giving ample scope of manipulation and non-fulfillment of the reservation quota of all marginalized categories, (SC, ST, OBC) including the disabled. Therefore, we urge you to put rosters of All (SC/ST/OBC/PH) categories on University Website. This would be a crucial step to ensure the equal distribution of reserved seats among all the reserved categories and will bring the much needed transparency in recruitment. Further, we have found that recently many ad hock appointments have been made in different colleges, however, disabled candidates are not being recruited. This scenario must change. (O) Regarding the reservation in Admission: 1. There is a major problem in the implementation of three percent reservation for disabled students at undergraduate, postgraduate and research level admissions; and it demands immediate rectification. The merit set for the students with disabilities who come to seek admission in various courses is fixed at par with the students with general category whereas the merit level of SC and ST students is fixed separately. This action of DU is against the spirit of Indian constitution in general and against the principles of reservation in particular. The Persons With Disabilities are a weaker section of society and as a result are identified as Reserved Category which is at par with SC and ST. Therefore Persons With Disabilities should have an equal right to enjoy all benefits at par which are given to SC and ST. We therefore urge you to ensure that students with disabilities who come to seek admission should get equal treatment and benefits in merit as it is given to SC and ST students. In other words, their cut off list should be prepared in the same manner which is followed with regard to SC and ST categories. This is also substantiated by the recent judgment of the Honorable Delhi High Court, dated 12th September, 2012 in the matter of Anmol Bhandari versus Delhi Technological University vide W.P.(C) No.4853 of 2012 in which the Honorable High-Court has directed the DTU to provide the benefits in admissions to the petitioner on equal basis as given to SC and ST students. 2. Further, colleges should also be sensitized to entertain those disabled candidates who directly approach them for admission, instead of necessarily going through the office of the Dean of Students’ Welfare. After all, latter’s office is meant to provide only the enabling mechanism. But it cannot take away the equal right of disabled candidates to apply directly like other candidates in the college of their choice. (P) Request to Constitute an Empowered Committee and Hold a Disability Summit: In the light of the above-referred issues, we request you to constitute an Empowered Committee for preparing a time-bound action plan to resolve them. Such a committee should include apart from the concerned University officials, persons having first hand experience of disability and related work and research. Apart from holding focused meetings with concerned persons and officials (including the coordinators of Enabling Units, college Principals and the HODs of University Departments), the committee must invite all disabled students and teachers for a disability summit to be held on a date notified well in advance. The time-bound action plan of Delhi University should be based on the deliberations of this summit. Though we have already organized many rounds of consultations with the disabled teachers, students and non-teaching staff of Delhi University and this representation is based on their feedback, it is essential that such a committee should also directly hear their voices. In fact, a copy of this representation may be made available in advance to all participants in accessible format so that if required they might add any leftover matter. However, realizing the urgency of the matter and the time constraints particularly in the light of the fact that Planning Commission is working to complete its task of preparing 12th Plan soon, the University must organize this summit not later than the second week of October. We would also like to once again emphasize that for various matters mentioned below, University might be required to have deliberations with the UGC and Planning Commission. Hence, it is urgently required for the University to intervene in this process immediately with the issues of disabled. Waiting for a positive and prompt action and response. Nikhil Jain (President, Sambhavana.) On 12/5/12, avinash shahi <shahi88avin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Go guys go... Exams over! > I'm thinking to shift from JNU to DU.... > No way! > further all the best to all would be selected next year. > And do give your heart and soul to academics... > Now,lets see what suprimo say? > Around 100 Delhi University (DU) students with disabilities of will go > abroad next year, Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh said at the closing > ceremony of Badhte Kadam — a nationwide campaign to raise awareness > regarding disability — on the university campus on Tuesday. > > “It is a historic decision. For the first time, a university will take > students with disabilities on such a trip,” Officer on Special Duty of > DU Equal Opportunity Cell Bipin Kumar Tiwary said. > > Elaborating on the nature of the trip, he said, “It will be an > educational trip, through which students will be able to experience > the facilities available in foreign universities and make projects on > what they observe. They will return to Delhi University and see how > similar facilities can be provided here.” > > Singh said: “Such a campaign will awaken the nation. I can see some > school children here. In the future, I hope they join Delhi > University. We will provide them with all facilities possible.” > > In the past six months, DU has taken many steps with regard to > students with disabilities, such as exemption of tuition and hostel > fees and a reduction in mess charges. > > “Apart from the 3 per cent reservation in university hostels, we have > increased the number of seats for students with disabilities. They do > not have to pay tuition fees. Despite many attempts, some colleges are > not following the rules. However, we will ensure that these rules are > strictly adhered to,” Singh said. > > DU had earlier asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to provide these > students free Metro cards with centralised recharging and blocking > features. > > DU also plans to provide free netbooks with screen-reading software to > these students. > > “The netbooks have been bought and will be given to students in a few > days,” Singh said. > > DU students with disabilities had also visited the Wagah border and > stayed at Army camps as part of Gyananodyaya, an educational train > journey, in October. > > A first-year Political Science (Honours) student at Gargi College, > Gunjan Agarwal, said, “The best part of the trip was the manner in > which we were welcomed everywhere. I hope I get to be a part of the > foreign trip,” she said. > > The event included a silent rendering of the national anthem by school > students, a dance performance by children from NGO Muskaan, which > works for the differently abled, and a musical by DU students. > URL: > http://www.indianexpress.com/news/educational-du-announces-foreign-trip-for-students-with-disabilities/1040550/0 > > > -- > Avinash Shahi > MPhil Research Scholar > Centre for the Study of Law and Governance > Jawaharlal Nehru University > New Delhi India > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- Vikas Gupta Assistant Professor–University of Delhi; Joint Secretary–Sambhavana Organization; National Executive Member–All-India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE); Associate Editor–'Reconstructing Education'; Permanent Office: Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi , Delhi 110007, India. Ph: +91-11-266659 (O.), +91-11-27662347 (R.) & +91-9818193875 (M.) Email: vikas...@gmail.com Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
