The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Centre at the Government School for Blind, which has started imparting ICT education to visually challenged schoolchildren in the State, has now become a sought-after centre for teachers and the general public as well.
There has been an increasing demand from the latter group for the audio files of Public Service Commission (PSC) and Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) rank files, teachers’ guide and handbooks made at this centre.
Calendar
From printing this year’s Braille calendar to recording sessions for various audio files, the ICT Centre launched in June 2009 with sponsorship from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and later taken over by the State government is a hub of various ICT-related projects. The centre is equipped with a Braille press, a talking studio and a computer lab.
“The audio files of various rank files, short stories and novels brought out by the centre are of good quality and are done professionally. It has various takers among the public,” said P. Biju, an employee at the Accountant General’s Office here.
Braille dictionary
After the success of the Braille calendar and the English grammar textbooks, which had a number of takers, the team is now working to bring out a Braille English-English dictionary for schoolchildren.
Computer instructor at the centre O.M. Reshmi said that each alphabet would be made into a separate volume, consisting of 260-290 pages of Braille transcripts each. The team is planning to launch the first volume by the end of this month.
Fewer readers
Lack of readers is an issue faced by the centre.
It is with the help of a few dedicated parents, the two-member team is bringing out the audio files of textbooks.
“At present, we have to hunt for volunteers every day to attend the two- or three-hour reading sessions. Delay in getting readers also affects the release of books.
The project can be run efficiently if we have a permanent reader appointed by the government,” said G. Thulaseedharan, Principal of the school.
