TNPSC offers 188 vacancies for differently abled

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission is offering 188 vacancies in the Group II exams for the physically challenged, according to TNPSC chairman R Natraj.

Addressing a meeting of State Level Conference on Career Counseling and Guidance for the Visually Challenged organized by Nethrodaya here on Saturday, Natraj said in the next 10 days the posts will be filled and urged the physically challenged community to take up the opportunity. Of the 188 jobs, 68 are for the visually challenged people.

Natraj, who was honoured for implementing the the government policy towards three per cent reservation for the differently abled community in government jobs in letter and spirit, said he is only the facilitator. This is your right and the state government is the facilitator. “I am a government servant who implements the scheme of the government,” said the former director general of police.

The TNPSC chairman also rued the fact that there are no statistics of the visually challenged persons in the state as no census has been conducted in this regard. “This has proved a big hurdle in providing benefits to this community,” he said.

V K Jeyakodi, principal secretary and state commissioner for the differently abled, highlighted various schemes of the government being implemented for the physically challenged community.

He said the state government has started early intervention centres for visually handicapped children in the district. He said the aim The aim of the Centres is to develop skills of Visually Impaired Children, mainstream them in regular school and to provide guidance and counseling service to their parents and family members.

Similarly, the state has also launched a scholarship scheme to prevent dropouts in special and aided schools. He said the state government has also raised the allowance of scribes helping the visually handicapped persons from Rs 100 to Rs 250. He also said the government has launched a skill development initiative for the differently-abled in 32 districts.

A carom designed exclusively designed for the for the visually impaired community by Dr Milind Dass, a senior research officer for the differently abled community was given to Nethrodaya. He was also honoured with ‘Best compassionate Inventor for the visually impaired community award.’

Speaking to Express, Dass said the carom has a special striker and special coin. The black coin has concave design while the white coin is plain. He said the red coin is cut at the edge while the striker is crescent shaped.

He said there is a need to design and develop devices understanding the limitations of the differently abled and facilitate for better learning and mobility.

He said the devices developed should not be confined to shelf. “Every challenged person do have one or other basic limitations. One of the basic limitations is mobility. Understanding their basic mobility we need to develop educational, sports and recreational materials for their rehabilitation,” he added.