Moving forward, one dot at a time
If more institutions facilitate visually impaired, many exceptional students will get chance to step into limelight.
File photo of braille. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Faiz Rasool was only 4 years old when he became visually impaired. In his own words, he was stricken with typhoid and jaundice, after which a doctor prescribed a heavy dose of antibiotics. This led to damaging his optic nerve, the portion of the brain that is responsible for the sense of sight in human beings.
But the disability has, in no way, stopped Rasool from achieving what he wants. Today, armed with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Karachi, the two-time gold medalist is a part of the visiting faculty at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST). He teaches at the Department of Social Sciences and Economics. The braille system has been his lifeline, in more ways than one.
“The braille system is about dots and feeling those dots,” says Rasool, as he attempts to explain the 6-dots-system from which 63 different combinations of numbers can be made. “We [the visually impaired] assign a combination of numbers to each alphabet. Braille is more about feeling the combination in front of us, rather than understanding it.”
Not all that easy
Rasool is still continuing his education and is currently enrolled as an MS programme leading to PhD. And yet, he is well aware of the difficulties faced by the visually impaired community at large.
“I was privileged, that is why I have been able to come this far. This isn’t the case for the rest of the visually impaired community,” shares Rasool. “There is a misconception about the 2% [hiring] quota which is offered by the Government of Pakistan.”
He clarifies that the quota is for the disabled community as a whole. Therefore, the visually impaired have less or no chances at all of getting hired in both government and private organisations.
Furthermore, Braille books are only available until the primary level and are expensive to purchase.
“There are no books for university level students who cannot see,” he says, adding that they often have no other choice but to record lectures at university. “Modern technology to access and write braille is unavailable in Pakistan.”
According to Rasool, he has a normal laptop, but he relies on his sense of hearing while using it. “The only difference is that I have software called Job Access With Speech (JAWS).” The disadvantage of JAWS, according to him, is that it can only read out the information which is available in English. “The students who have Urdu as a major or do not understand English cannot use JAWS.”
A widespread imparity
There are 1.7 million visually impaired people in Pakistan, according to UNDP Human Development Report 2013.
According to Dr Harris Shahzad, an ophthalmologist, the most common causes of blindness in Pakistan are remediable, including Cataract (treatable), Diabetes (90-95% chances of regaining vision) and Glaucoma (controllable).
“Visually impaired people can start seeing again, depending on the cause of losing vision,” says Shahzad. “Visual imparity can also be there in a person by birth. If the person cannot see light at all, there are less chances of him/her to start seeing.”
Fostering more leaders
Saima Saleem, who was a student at the Aziz Jahan Begum Trust for Blind (AJB) in Lahore, has also proved that visual imparity does not hold one back, if provisions are made.
“Saima is currently working as an assistant director in the ministry of foreign affairs in Geneva, Switzerland. After her schooling at AJB, she completed her college studies from Kinnaird College,” says Athar Nizami, the AJB’s chief operating officer, with a tinge of pride in his voice. “She cleared the CSS exam, too, and even went to the US on a Fulbright scholarship.”
AJB currently has an enrollment of a hundred visually impaired students, from class 1 to matriculation. They take all board exams, in a computerized fashion or on Braille paper, says Nizami.
Furthermore, AJB has the responsibility of getting the students jobs. Teachers, after being hired, are given braille training for three months, and the school has facilitated students with braille machines, which are 6-key typewriters.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2014.
Faiz Rasool was only 4 years old when he became visually impaired. In his own words, he was stricken with typhoid and jaundice, after which a doctor prescribed a heavy dose of antibiotics. This led to damaging his optic nerve, the portion of the brain that is responsible for the sense of sight in human beings.
But the disability has, in no way, stopped Rasool from achieving what he wants. Today, armed with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Karachi, the two-time gold medalist is a part of the visiting faculty at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST). He teaches at the Department of Social Sciences and Economics. The braille system has been his lifeline, in more ways than one.
“The braille system is about dots and feeling those dots,” says Rasool, as he attempts to explain the 6-dots-system from which 63 different combinations of numbers can be made. “We [the visually impaired] assign a combination of numbers to each alphabet. Braille is more about feeling the combination in front of us, rather than understanding it.”
Not all that easy
Rasool is still continuing his education and is currently enrolled as an MS programme leading to PhD. And yet, he is well aware of the difficulties faced by the visually impaired community at large.
“I was privileged, that is why I have been able to come this far. This isn’t the case for the rest of the visually impaired community,” shares Rasool. “There is a misconception about the 2% [hiring] quota which is offered by the Government of Pakistan.”
He clarifies that the quota is for the disabled community as a whole. Therefore, the visually impaired have less or no chances at all of getting hired in both government and private organisations.
Furthermore, Braille books are only available until the primary level and are expensive to purchase.
“There are no books for university level students who cannot see,” he says, adding that they often have no other choice but to record lectures at university. “Modern technology to access and write braille is unavailable in Pakistan.”
According to Rasool, he has a normal laptop, but he relies on his sense of hearing while using it. “The only difference is that I have software called Job Access With Speech (JAWS).” The disadvantage of JAWS, according to him, is that it can only read out the information which is available in English. “The students who have Urdu as a major or do not understand English cannot use JAWS.”
A widespread imparity
There are 1.7 million visually impaired people in Pakistan, according to UNDP Human Development Report 2013.
According to Dr Harris Shahzad, an ophthalmologist, the most common causes of blindness in Pakistan are remediable, including Cataract (treatable), Diabetes (90-95% chances of regaining vision) and Glaucoma (controllable).
“Visually impaired people can start seeing again, depending on the cause of losing vision,” says Shahzad. “Visual imparity can also be there in a person by birth. If the person cannot see light at all, there are less chances of him/her to start seeing.”
Fostering more leaders
Saima Saleem, who was a student at the Aziz Jahan Begum Trust for Blind (AJB) in Lahore, has also proved that visual imparity does not hold one back, if provisions are made.
“Saima is currently working as an assistant director in the ministry of foreign affairs in Geneva, Switzerland. After her schooling at AJB, she completed her college studies from Kinnaird College,” says Athar Nizami, the AJB’s chief operating officer, with a tinge of pride in his voice. “She cleared the CSS exam, too, and even went to the US on a Fulbright scholarship.”
AJB currently has an enrollment of a hundred visually impaired students, from class 1 to matriculation. They take all board exams, in a computerized fashion or on Braille paper, says Nizami.
Furthermore, AJB has the responsibility of getting the students jobs. Teachers, after being hired, are given braille training for three months, and the school has facilitated students with braille machines, which are 6-key typewriters.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2014.