Finding a writer is tough for city’s blind students
Not many volunteer to help them as they have to prepare for their own exams….Priya Ramakrishnan
As if the burden of studies is not enough during SSC exams, blind students find the going tougher when they have to search for a someone to write their papers. Take, for instance, the case of Manashri Soman, a 15-year-old blind student, for whom the hunt for a writer went on for more than a few months. “For students like me, a writer also has to double up as a reader,” said Soman.
“Not many had volunteered to be my writer as most had to prepare for their own exams. I also needed a different writer for mathematics,” said Soman. As the board offers class VII level mathematics to handicapped students, Soman, apart from a writer from level IX, needed a separate writer for mathematics from level VI.
She finally found Rucha Deshpande, a class IX student from the same school — Suvidhyalay School, Borivili. For her mathematics paper, she found Gaurang Mane, a class VI student from St. Francis High School, Borivili.
“Once I found Rucha, I had to see whether there was rapport between us. The writer has to be patient enough to repeat the questions I do not understand and she should understand my pronunciation,” said Soman.
For Deshpande, it was her first experience as a writer. “We practised for three months before the exam. I had to write whatever she dictated in a neat manner. We had to time ourselves to finish the paper within two hours,” said Deshpande.
Often, many blind students suffer due to errors that their writers make. “I had a writer during my semester exams. Due to his spelling mistakes, I lost marks. But I have confidence in Rucha, as she encourages me when I forget an answer and does not hurry me,” she said.
For Soman, the journey has not been easy. She was initially refused admission by regular schools. “With the help of National Association for the Blind (NAB), we found Suvidhyalay High School. NAB also helped her in learning Braille and accessing study material,” said her mother Anita Soman.