In order to help its physically-challenged students, the campus of the Ravenshaw University here is turning out to be a home away from home for them. With more and more physically-challenged students enrolling to pursue higher education, the university authorities are planning to make the campus friendly for them.
As part of this endeavour, the university held a unique welcome ceremony for these students in the campus on Wednesday where the students were reassured that the campus would cater to every need of theirs so that they would not feel neglected in any aspect compared to others.
Welcoming the differently-able students, whose numbers have crossed over 100 now, university Vice-Chancellor Prof BC Tripathy announced that a separate hostel for these students would come up in the campus soon. “We will equip the university library with all computer-based equipments necessary for vision deficiency students,” Prof Tripathy added.
Nearly 80 of these students are blind and all of them are accommodated in hostels located in the campus. “All the differently-able students have been provided rooms in the ground floor with special toilet facilities,” informed university Registrar PK Jena.
Coordinator of the physically-challenged students of the university Priyabrat Majhi informed that as per the Government norms, no tuition fee or hostel fee is collected from these students and necessary incentives as per the rules are provided to them. He said the physically-challenged students have formed a students’ union selecting their own executives to work for them.
“We are also planning to have separate co-curricular activities for these students from this year to hone their talents,” Majhi added. The welcome ceremony was addressed, among others, by State Coordinator of Blind Sanyasi Kumar Behera, who profoundly appreciated the unique gesture of the university towards the physically-handicapped students.
The university authorities also on the occasion felicitated several volunteer students of the university, who have always shown keen interest in helping out the physically-challenged students. Anubhav Das, a first year Geology student, was also felicitated on the occasion by the Vice-Chancellor for cementing his position in the five-member ‘I lead India Youth Brigade’ of the State organised by a media house.