Physically-challenged students participate at a seminar in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 10: Visually challenged Banita Gouda from Puri secured 70 per cent in the matriculation examinations last year. Her admission to BJB College, therefore, did not surprise anyone. However despite repeated appeal, the 16-year-old failed to secure hostel accommodation at the college.

“My home is about 45km away and there was none to escort me to the college everyday,” said Banita who had no option but to miss classes. Last week, the college authorities sent her a letter asking her to take transfer certificate from the college since she had “shortage of attendance”. “It was e-admissions last year and I had opted for BJB College as my first option. I had tried for a transfer earlier. However, I could not make it,” said Banita who had to pay the price for her disability.

Banita was among scores of students who attended a state-level consultation for students organised by the Commission for Persons with Disability here today. The consultation sought to draw suggestions from the disabled students on the problems they were facing and the suggestions they would like to put for the working draft of the Disability Act 2011.

Same is the case with 17-year-old Saroj Behara, an orthopaedic handicapped, who can work out solutions to chemistry problems in seconds. No wonder his teachers had insisted that he should take up science when he went to college. “I would always look forward to the practical classes,” he said. However, it was not long before he realised that his disability would come in the way of his passion. The tables and the shelves in the lab were placed too high for him to access.

“I would make all efforts and try. A couple of times classmates helped, then they would get irritated in passing me the bottles,” Saroj said. He had to stop attending the practicals. Subsequently, Saroj was forced to change his stream to arts.

“Ninety-five per cent of the visually challenged students are forced to take up arts. The commerce and the science stream demand a good command over maths. However, in the absence of qualified teachers, especially in maths and science, we have no one to guide us,” said Binod, a visually challenged student from the BJB college adding that there were no braille books or talking softwares in college libraries for students like him.

“The commission regularly deal with genuine problems of the disabled students. This is an effort to listen to their issues and concerns and take their opinions,” said disability commissioner Kasturi Mohapatra.