Question : AVAILABILITY OF BRAILLE BOOKS

(a) whether audio aids/Braille books are available for all courses in all Kendriya Vidyalayas and universities in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) if not, the steps taken by the Government to ensure that all such facilities are available for the benefit of the blind people;

(d) whether the Government is considering making audio versions available of all books published in the country by making it compulsory for publishers to come out with audio versions of their books;

(e) if so, the details thereof; and

(f) if not, the alternate policy that is being pursued to make all books available for blind people?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. D. PURANDESWARI)

(a) to (f) Audio aids/Braille books are not readily available for all courses in Kendriya Vidyalayas(KVs) in the country. However, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan makes attempt to provide the Braille books for available courses for visually impaired students. UGC has permitted universities and colleges affiliated to universities to utilize a part of the library grant for the purchase of Braille typewriter, dictionary and cassette recorders etc. to enable visually impaired students to make use of these facilities. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH), Dehradun brings out Braille version of all its textbooks every year. Delhi Bureau of Textbooks has been obtaining CDs of textbooks for preparation of Braille versions of textbooks to be used by students with visual impairment in schools in Delhi, for the last two years.