22 Blind Students Receive Admission in Two Shimla Colleges

In a first for the state of Himachal Pradesh, 22 blind students received admission in two of the most prestigious colleges of Shimla, with 20 of them receiving full scholarships.

Among many positive stories which prove that disability is only a phenomena as grave as you make it, here is another one to be proud of.

This year, two of the most prestigious colleges in Shimla, witnessed the admission of 22 brilliant students who are visually impaired. 9 of these students are girls, and all of them come from rural areas of the state.

This is the first time in Himachal Pradesh that such a large number of visually impaired students have taken admission in colleges. The education of 20 of these students, who come from weak financial backgrounds, will be funded by Umang Foundation – a public welfare which is providing a full scholarship to them. According to The Times of India, Ajai Srivastava who is the Chairman of Umang Foundation, said that 10 blind students received admission in 2014, in RKMV College and Government College, Sanjauli. Thus, this year has seen a jump of more than double the number as compared to last year.

Students who have received these scholarships will also receive accommodation in the college hostels, and a woman attendant provided by the foundation with tend to the girls.

The foundation will take up their education expenditure till the implementation of the recent high court order of providing free education to students with disabilities. On 4th June 2015, Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan’s bench had directed the government to provide free education to students with disabilities across all classes, including those in professional and vocational courses.

This is truly a moment to be proud of and one can only hope for an uphill climb from hereon. Education is a matter of necessity and equality must be maintained when the reception of education is concerned. Congratulations to all the 22 students!

All Photo Credits – Wikimedia

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