The number of visually impaired people in Bangladesh is about one percent of the total population, total of about 103 million people. It is well known to all concerned with the education sector that disability is a barrier to education. The condition of visually impaired people is more vulnerable. They have been deprived of light of basic education. This violates the declaration of education for all and Bangladesh’s national disability policy.
With the vision of developing an inclusive society and ensuring the rights of marginalized people, the voluntary development organization “Unite Theatre for Social Action (UTSA)” was established in 1997. UTSA operates various initiatives under its REHECDU strategy, focusing on sustainable and integrated development, led by persons with disabilities. These initiatives aim to enhance the rights, education, healthcare, employment, and cultural development of persons with disabilities.
To improve the socio-economic conditions and ensure the civil rights of visually impaired individuals, UTSA has launched a computerized Braille book publication program. This initiative leverages information technology to make reading materials more accessible to visually impaired students.
Despite facing extreme poverty, a significant number of visually impaired students are pursuing education in various government and non-government schools, colleges, and universities. However, due to the unavailability of necessary textbooks in Braille format, their education process is severely disrupted. While the government has been providing Braille textbooks for primary and secondary levels in recent years, there are no such initiatives for higher secondary and university-level visually impaired students. As a result, access to academic Braille books remains uncertain, creating major obstacles in their education.
In response to this pressing need, UTSA established the “Chittagong Computerized Braille Publication Center (CCBPC)” in 2004. Since its inception, CCBPC has been continuously publishing Braille books to meet the educational needs of visually impaired students across various educational institutions in the country.
Goal:
To establish the socio-economical rights of the visually impaired by making available education materials by using Information Communication technologies.
Objective:
-Publish Braille books to make available educational materials for the visually impaired.
-Establish a Braille library by collecting and publishing Braille books.
-Support the organizations working with the visually impaired by supplying Braille books.
Activities of CCBPC:
- Publish Braille books.
- Library facilities for the visually impaired.
- Networking with the organizations working with the visually impaired.
- Advocacy to establish disability rights.
- Day observation (White cane day. Disability day.
- Disability device distribution (white cane, wheelchair, talking watch, hearing aid, Braille books, Braille slate, cassette etc.)
Expectations:
Although visually impaired students receive class-based textbooks like mainstream primary and secondary students, they require additional educational support materials to meet their specific learning needs. It is essential to ensure the provision of these supplementary resources free of cost. To achieve equality in education, it is now a crucial demand of visually impaired individuals and all concerned that textbooks and study guides tailored to students with special needs be published free of charge at the primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels.
To the best of its ability, CCBPC has been publishing both academic and non-academic Braille books for visually impaired students. However, despite its efforts, the scale of this initiative remains insufficient compared to the actual demand. Due to financial limitations, maintaining the continuity of this program is challenging.
We seek collective support to continue publishing Braille textbooks for visually impaired students, enabling them to pursue higher education and expand their academic opportunities.
Contact
Chattogram Computerized Braille Publication Centre (CCBPC)
Sayeed Villa, Akbarshah Housing Society, Akbarshah, Pahartoli, Chattogram
Email: ccbpc.utsa@gmail.com | Cell: 01819-850995