Do our policies address ground level problems?

Twenty-eight-year-old Parvesh Alam lives with his mother, sister and brother in Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh. He lost his father a few years ago. Parvesh started to lose his eyesight at the age of 14, due to an eye problem called Glaucoma. This brought an unexpected halt to his studies in the mainstream mode. Neither Parvesh nor his family were aware of possibilities of education and employment, or tools and technology available for someone with vision impairment. This left him confined to his home. 

The burden of providing for the family came onto Parvesh’s brother who worked hard as a daily wage labourer. But that wasn’t enough, and Parvesh felt helpless but desperate to contribute. He heard about the Eyeway Helpdesk through an audio messaging service for the blind called Hamari Vaani. He immediately contacted our counsellor and sought help to restart his education. 

He was advised to enroll in Class X through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). The next challenge was to access his course material, which could be done through a smartphone with text to speech feature, except Parvesh didn’t afford one. He learned from Eyeway that he could seek the device under a state sponsored scheme for persons with blindness from the Composite Regional Centre (CRC) in Lucknow. 

He applied but his request was declined because as per criteria, CRC doesn’t issue a smartphone to students enrolled in open school or someone who doesn’t possess a Class 9 completion certificate. This prompted our Advocacy Officer to approach the CRC officials to explain that such rules deprive students like Parvesh from the benefits of provisions that are designed in the first place to enable them. 

The Eyeway Advocacy Officer pleaded with the authorities to think beyond policy on paper and address the ground reality. In this case Parvesh would be able to complete his education and possibly become independent with a job, if the assistive device was provided to him. 

The CRC officials finally gave in, considering the merits of the appeal. An exception was made for Parvesh and now he is able to access study material, browse the internet for information and learn from YouTube tutorials. Once he clears his board exam, Parvesh plans to apply for a government job based on Class X certificate so he can provide for his family. 

Team Eyeway