Visually impaired students’ demands met after protest

THANJAVUR: The woes of students of the Government Higher Secondary School for the Visually Impaired near the overbridge here came to the fore when they staged a demonstration before the school on Tuesday.
 
The students said that they did not have teachers for plus-1 and plus-2 classes and adequate number of ayahs to look after them. They said that there should be six ayahs but only two were there now. They also demanded construction of a new school building and complained that they have civic problems like clogging of drains and toilets, and non-functioning of the washing machine in the school.

 R. Ravichandran, District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, told Deccan Chronicle that he had visited the school in the morning and heard the demands of the students. He said that he had conveyed the demands of the students to Manivasan, Commissioner for the Welfare of the Differently Abled. Teachers will be appointed before October 30.

  Specialised teachers for the blind have been selected through the employment exchange and will be posted in October. “At present we are managing with post-graduate teachers who take class 10. The school was upgraded into a higher secondary school only last year.”

He also said that there were four ayahs in the school, but one ayah had taken voluntary retirement, a newly posted ayah had not joined.

He said that government had planned to construct a new building at a cost of Rs 70 lakh last year when the school was upgraded. Now, they have asked for revised estimates.