Visually-challenged students check out their new laptops at Bhima Bhoi Blind School. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 24: Today was a special day for Ramesh Chandra Mahant, a visually-challenged student doing his PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The Kendrapada boy was among the 100 students who received free laptops from the state government.

“I had always wanted a laptop for myself and I am glad to have got one,” said the 27-year-old feeling the wide screen with his hands.

“Though we have a Helen Kellar unit for the blind,” at JNU, a personal laptop will be extremely helpful for downloading study materials available online,” said Ramesh. The laptops were distributed free of cost as part of a special scheme by the state governments’ directorate for welfare of persons with disability in a move to encourage visually-impaired students to opt for higher education.

A beneficiaries’ list was prepared based on the names of students recommended by the collectors of each district, said an official.

“The students, who are in Plus Three second-year and above were selected as beneficiaries to ensure that they continue with their studies, said disability activist Sanyas Behera.

“Each laptop comes with a special reading software for the blind titled JAWS Access. This helps the students listen to the text on the monitor. They can also download a number of digital books available for the blind from the Internet,” he said.

The students who received the computers were very excited.

While some of them already knew how to operate the machines, it was a completely new experience for some of the others.

The department has also arranged for a special training session for the students to get them acquainted with the laptops.

“Like normal students, blind students also need to take notes for future reference. Papers written using Braille slate may not last for long. Besides, taking Braille notes is not suitable for bulky writings. Besides using the software for reading and navigation, the students can access the Internet, thus getting access to a greater source of information,” said Kushadha Bag, who topped MPhil in political science from Ravenshaw University.

As many as 192 students visually-challenged students in the state are enrolled in various degree, MPhil and PhD courses.