Centre for Internet and Society

The Quest for Education – Persons with Disabilities, Severely Challenged

nirmita — 2016-11-30T15:38:55Z

Education is the fundamental building block of development; it leads to an improved quality of life, employment, social acceptance and inclusion, national development and intellectual growth.

Published in Your Story on November 24, 2016

The right to education and the current census figures

Over the past decade, multiple efforts and initiatives associated with policy and programme towards achieving the goal of education have taken place. However, there are still millions of children with disabilities and students who are struggling to access basic and higher education and for whom economic independence appears to be an elusive dream.

The 2011 census figures show that the literacy rates for persons with disabilities are much lower than that of the non-disabled population of the country and even within that, certain disabilities and women across disabilities have a lower percentage. The overall literacy rate for persons with disabilities is 59 percent compared to 74 percent for the general population. The literacy level of women with disabilities in urban areas is 61 percent, which is 9 percent lower than their male counterparts. While women with disabilities in rural areas are worse with a literacy rate of 38 percent, 20 percent lower than disabled males. And people with multiple disabilities fare the worst, with a 35.8 percent literacy rate. Their education needs in terms of content, technology, training and support remain unfulfilled.

Challenges faced by the disabled

The issues faced by children with different disabilities vary. For instance, in the case of children with print impairment, there is need for aggressive implementation of schemes to provide assistive technology since most disabled students do not have access to technologies in most states. Students who are blind are dependent upon Braille materials, which often do not reach them before half the school term is over. And this only supports the bare minimum need in terms of reading and not any extra knowledge building requirements. In some states, laptops are being distributed; however, these are unaccompanied by any training requirements, so it is unclear how many students are really able to use their devices. In places where these devices are available, they are mostly provided to students from the ninth standard.

Thus, in some states, laptops are being distributed; however, these are unaccompanied by any training requirements, so it is unclear how many students are really able to use their devices. In places where these devices are available, they are mostly provided to students from the ninth standard. Thus, transition becomes difficult and they find it hard to write their own exams. So while their sighted counterparts are experimenting with technology from a much earlier age, they are introduced to it at a much later stage, by which time their colleagues are far ahead of them.

Children with hearing impairments also face many challenges. They are isolated from mainstream communication as well; there are only around 250 sign language interpreters in India and sometimes one person has to cater to the requirements of an entire state. Hence, they grow and are educated in isolation without proper means of integration in inclusive schools. The physical environments in most schools also tend to be inaccessible for those with mobility impairments.

It is a rather dismal scenario content wise too. The course content put out by different boards is not in accessible formats, so organisations serving the blind have to convert them into an accessible format. There is a strain on resources. In the case of regional language content, the expense of typing out Telugu or Tamil is high and often increases the cost of the book 10-fold. Just converting the basic course syllabus for any one subject for a BA course can run into lakhs. Hence, there is very limited access to books.

The third challenge is the lack of trained manpower and resources to provide an enriching reading experience for a child with a disability. Children not only have to deal with restrictive resource conditions, but also difficult social conditions and stigma at school. Attitudinal changes need to occur and a lot of this begins at home and school. Consider this, in a rural setting; students in a class have access to a teacher full time during school hours. But there may be only one special needs teacher catering to students with multiple disabilities across several schools. So instead of having more support, a student with disability has to actually deal with severely limited support.

Often these teachers are ironically paid much lesser than other teachers, considering that they actually need more skills and patience to teach children with disabilities. Only in the field of disability does one encounter a situation where a specialisation is undervalued and under paid, whereas in all other genre of professions like medicines, one has to do a generalisation before a specialisation. What sort of prospects then do we offer children with disabilities? What we need is resource centres at each college and school, or if that is not possible, then at least resource centres at district level coordinating support in an appropriate manner with adequately paid and skilled teachers.

Promoting technology

Promoting use of technology and open source software and imparting training at an early age will go a long way in making students with disabilities self-sufficient and independent. And of course, the issue of content is of primary importance. All boards must embrace accessible standards such as EPUB 3.0 for publications and WCAG 2.0 for their websites and make course content available in accessible formats. Exemption of certain topics should be replaced by facilitating learning using innovative methods and tools. Importantly, there also needs to be focus on providing education targeted towards profession and gainful employment.

Clearly, there is a long way to go before we can talk of inclusive education for children with disabilities; there is a severe shortage of even exclusive or special education. To improve the situation, individual piecemeal efforts alone will not make a difference. It is essential to have a systemic approach to inclusive education, with sufficient implementation and infrastructural support, if we are to progress to a point where every child with disability is encouraged to learn and be prepared for a world of employment, independence and dignity.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/your-story-nirmita-narasimhan-november-24-2016-quest-for-education-persons-with-disabilities-severely-challenged

Where Are There So Few Books For The Print-Impaired?

nirmita — 2016-11-04T01:20:57Z

India publishes approximately 90,000 books each year in 24 different languages. We have over 16,000 publishers, and are one of the top nations for English book publishing in the world. Clearly we are a nation which values and fosters a culture of reading and passing on knowledge in different domains ranging from literature, to yoga, language, education, science, fiction and many others.

This article was published in the Huffington Post on November 3, 2016.

We are also the world's second most populous nation with an extremely large population with disabilities, including persons with print impairments. However, the total number of books accessible to the print impaired in India is only 19,000, a fraction of what is available yearly to the general public. How is it that despite our prowess in publishing and technology, persons with print impairments in India remain deprived of access to books and other forms of information which are key to an inclusive and fulfilling life?

There are presently approximately 19,000 books converted till date, a pathetic contrast to the 90,000 books published just in India every year.

Before going further into this question, let us understand the term "print disability". Very broadly, print-impaired persons are those who cannot access printed material due to some form of disability, such as blindness or low vision, dyslexia, autism etc. For these persons to be able to read, the material needs to be converted into some other format such as Braille or accessible electronic formats which can be read using some assistive device like a screen reader or e-book reader, fitted in a laptop, mobile or stand alone device. For assistive technology to be able to read the content, it needs to conform to universal standards such as Unicode for Indic font or EPUB 3.0.

The challenges

Until 2012, one of the biggest hurdles to access printed content for the print-disabled was the fact that they had to obtain permission from the copyright holder of the work, every time they wanted to convert a book into audio/ Braille/ other formats. This was often unsuccessful, time consuming and required resources beyond the means of most blindness organizations, who could convert only a bare minimum of books, mostly excerpts from school text books for their readers. After over a decade of sustained advocacy, the Government included section 52 (1)(zb) in the Indian Copyright Act, a fair use exception which permitted conversion of copyrighted works into any accessible format for the benefit of a person with a disability on a non-profit basis. For profit, conversion is permitted on certain terms. This considerably opened up the world of books for persons with print impairments in India. In September 2016, the Marrakesh Treaty for the Visually Impaired also came into force, which means that cross-border sharing of accessible books can happen between countries which have ratified the Treaty.

However, despite these measures, the availability of books remains abysmal. While the legal issues have been sorted out to a large extent, the practical situation is harder to deal with and there are significant hurdles in creation and dissemination as well as equipping users to read accessible books.

Firstly, organizations serving the print-impaired do not have the bandwidth to undertake large scale conversions of each and every book that gets published. At present, organizations have to spend considerable time and resources converting content into an accessible electronic format before they can make it available to end users. Consider this, the cost of typing out one page of a regional language like Telugu is approximately ₹30 So it would cost ₹3000 to type out a 100-page Telugu book, in addition to the price already paid to purchase the book. Apart from the unaffordability, the lack of equipment and personnel necessitates conversion being carried out in a very limited manner and mostly for books which are critical for studies and in high demand, since state boards do not provide accessible versions of school text books.

The simplest way to address accessible book creation would be for publishers to adopt EPUB 3.0 and ensure that books are "born accessible"...

While the Daisy Forum of India, along with the Government of India recently opened an online accessible digital library called the Sugamya Pustakalaya, it needs to be populated with accessible content. There are presently approximately 19,000 books converted till date, a pathetic contrast to the 90,000 books published just in India every year. Even international organizations such as Bookshare which have been expending millions to convert books in different countries have only succeeded in making 500,000 accessible books available in all, and these too are not equally available to persons in every country due to copyright issues.

The other challenge is to equip each and every print-impaired person with a device such as a laptop or mobile phone on which he/ she can read and work with the book. Of course, merely providing devices is pointless—appropriate training in how to use them is essential.

There are also issues of inadequate distribution networks to reach out to print impaired persons in urban and remote parts of India, which still need to be addressed.

Apart from the challenges specific to creating and disseminating accessible books, other digitization activities can also add to the problem. For instance, the Digital Library of India project, a spectacular effort to digitize books of all genres, is said to have a library of 550,603 books including several really old manuscripts and historical books. However, all of these are scanned and saved as inaccessible image files, rendering them of no use to the print-impaired.

Another problem is in the case of Indian language content which is often created in a nonUnicode font, making it unreadable for persons using screen readers.

How can we improve the situation?

The simplest way to address accessible book creation would be for publishers to adopt EPUB 3.0 and ensure that books are "born accessible" since they anyway produce a digital file of a book before bringing it out in print. This would obviate the entire cost, time and effort spent on conversion. Also, selling accessible e-versions to the print impaired could be a huge business opportunity for publishers, considering the large market for such books in India and globally. More information on this can be obtained from Accessible Book Consortium or by writing to BookShare.

We also need to ensure all digitization activities consider accessibility requirements and create resources that conform to accessibility standards.

We have the law, the technology, the books and the people, but need a concerted effort from multiple stakeholders... to bring all of these together.

On the technology front, an NGO-driven project over the past four years has now made text to speech available for several Indian languages using the open source text to speech engine e-Speak, which works with both laptops and Android phones. The government, with institutions like the IIT, is also driving initiatives to develop text to speech and optical character recognition (OCR) software for Indian languages. However, there is some way to go before these become available to end users.

To sum up, we have the law, we have the technology, the books and the people, but need a concerted effort from multiple stakeholders—the government, publishers, educational institutions and NGOs—to bring all of these together, so that every print-impaired person in India can enjoy the right to read.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/huffington-post-november-3-2016-nirmita-narasimhan-where-are-there-so-few-books-for-print-impaired

Mobile Apps Are Excluding Millions Of Indians Who Want To Use Them

nirmita — 2016-09-24T16:01:45Z

If someone were to ask you how many apps you use in a day, you might need to stop and count. You use apps to book cabs, to order groceries, make payments online, buy diapers, connect with friends... the list goes on. In fact apps, are becoming so intrinsic to daily life that without one handy you may have to think twice about how to complete a transaction.

The article was published in the Huffington Post on September 22, 2016.

Apps are uncomplicated, easy to use, at your finger tips and quick. So logically, everyone who has a smartphone should be using them, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case. Much as they would like to, millions of persons living with disabilities are unable to use apps to fulfil their daily living needs. This is because most apps are not accessible to users with a visual disability.

With about 30% of the blind population of the world living in India, it's imperative for service providers to give more thought to universal design and accessibility standards.

In order for an app to be accessible for a blind user, it should be readable by a screen reader -- software which reads out whatever appears on the screen. For it to function effectively, elements on web pages and applications should be properly labelled, otherwise the software will be unable to decipher what it is, not having any cognitive abilities like human beings. It will merely read out the element out as "button" or "graphic".

Here I will look at five very popular apps relating to food, groceries, transportation and mobile bill payment and banking to see how accessible they are for people with disabilities. These apps were tested using Talk Back, an open source Android screen reader.

1. Swiggy

The first app we looked at was Swiggy, which is used to order food from nearby restaurants. Here, the first screen, which shows the discounts/offers available, uses a graphics banner without alternative text, which cannot be deciphered by a screen reader. Another issue is inaccessible navigation. For instance, though we can select a food category like "soup", choosing a particular type of soup is not possible as the focus simply stays on the main category. This means a screen reader cannot read the rest of the information, making it impossible for a visually challenged person to order food.

2. Big Basket

Then we tried Big Basket to order some groceries. One of the issues we found included unlabelled banners; also, the continuous scrolling of the banner, which makes the screen reader try to constantly read the next unlabelled graphic, renders the app practically unusable. When we navigated to the list of products available, only their names were readable and the focus could not be shifted to information like price and quantity. This means the user can add items to the basket, but has no way of knowing the price or deciding the quantity, which obviously makes the app a no-go.

3. Ola

The taxi-hailing app Ola is fairly accessible, with some scope for improvement. The button to pinpoint the location is not labelled, and while trying to select a cab category the focus moves away automatically if there is no action in a few seconds. Hence, a person with vision impairments may need some assistance to use the app.

4. MyAirTel

This app for Airtel customers was found to have limited usability, with several accessibility issues. Many buttons, including Settings and Information are not labelled and hence are not readable by screen readers. The offers and discounts banner is also not labelled and keeps on moving, sending the screen reader into a loop saying "graphic". However, viewing unbilled/billed amounts and paying bills is easy, as those screens are well labelled and use minimal graphic controls.

5. ICICI - Pockets

This digital wallet app from ICICI bank was tested using an ICICI bank internet banking login and unfortunately found to be completely inaccessible for a person using a screen reader. There is no screen reader support and consequently no auditory feedback when using slides or touching the screen. One can tap and access the menus/options but they are not focusable and are not announced by the screen reader.

Over the past few years we have seen how corporates have embraced technological innovations and helped better the lives of common Indians. However, a more inclusive approach will help people with disabilities to enjoy the best technology has to offer, and lead a more independent life. It would be pertinent to mention at this point that the inaccessibility of apps is not a phenomenon which is particular to the ones reviewed above, but a common feature across stakeholder groups, including private and government agencies. With about 30% of the blind population of the world living in India, it's imperative for service providers engaging consumers through information and communication technologies to give more thought to universal design and accessibility standards. It would truly make a difference in the lives of many Indians.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/huffington-post-september-22-2016-nirmita-narasimhan-mobile-apps-are-excluding-millions-of-indians-who-want-to-use-them

An Overview of Accessibility Work (2008 - 2016)

nirmita — 2016-09-24T16:09:53Z

India has an estimated 70 million disabled persons who are unable to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. The disabled need accessible content, devices and interfaces facilitated via copyright law and accessibility policies. CIS campaigns for change in this area.

The progress made over the years can be accessed below:

Publications

E-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities (Nirmita Narasimhan, G3ict and ITU; November 23, 2010): The handbook was compiled and edited by Nirmita Narasimhan. Nirmita also contributed to the original toolkit.
Universal Service for Persons with Disabilities (CIS, G3ict and Hans Foundation; December 27, 2011). Nirmita Narasimhan was a co-author.
Web Accessibility Policy Making (CIS, G3ict and Hans Foundation; February 28, 2012). Nirmita Narasimhan was a contributor.
Making Mobile Phones and Services Accessible for Persons with Disabilities (ITU and G3ict; August 2012). Nirmita Narasimhan was a co-author.
Accessibility of Government Websites in India: A Report (CIS and Hans Foundation; September 26, 2012). Nirmita Narasimhan was a co-author.
Opening New Avenues for Empowerment (UNESCO; February 2013). Nirmita Narasimhan was the project coordinator from Asia Pacific.
Inclusive Financial Services for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities: Global Trends in Accessibility Requirements (G3ict and CIS; February 2015). Nirmita Narasimhan was a co-author.
National Compendium of Laws, Policies and Programmes for Persons with Disabilities (CIS and Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India; January 3, 2016). Nirmita Narasimhan was one of the contributors.

Reports

NIVH Annual Report 2011-12 (NIVH; 2012)
Inclusive Disaster and Emergency Management for Persons with Disabilities (Nirmita Narasimhan and Deepti Samant Raja; September 17, 2013). The report was submitted to the National Disaster Management Authority of India for their action.
Banking and Accessibility in India: A Report (Nirmita Narasimhan; August 12, 2013)
Accessibility of Political Parties Websites in India (Nirmita Narasimhan; March 24, 2014).
Enabling Elections (Nirmita Narasimhan and Centre for Law and Policy Research; March 2014).

Policy Submissions and Feedback

CIS worked with the Department of Electronics and Information Technology and civil society and industry partners such as the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), Microsoft Corporation, National informatics Centre (NIC), etc., to formulate and implement a National Electronic Accessibility Policy to ensure that all Indian information and communication technologies and electronic infrastructure (including the Internet) and research which is publically funded, is accessible to persons with disabilities. Nirmita Narasimhan was part of the policy drafting committee.
Accessibility in the New Telecom Policy 2011: CIS made a submission to the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India on December 9, 2011. CIS was one of the 27 organisations that sent a joint letter requesting that accessibility for persons with disabilities be included specifically within the goals and objectives of the policy.
Pilot Project Scheme - Access to ICTs and ICT Enabled Services for Persons with Disabilities in Rural India: CIS worked with USOF of India to design a scheme to launch projects for persons with disabilities. CIS prepared a background paper for the USOF, compiled a comprehensive global report which was later published in cooperation with G3ict and helped to convene a stakeholders meeting in September 2011 to launch the scheme and invite project applications.
Comments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 (Nirmita Narasimhan and Anandhi Viswanathan; October 30, 2014). The comments were submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in October 2014.
CIS joined hands with Daisy Forum of India member Arushi in Bhopal to submit a request for a notification mandating that all communication by the Government of Madhya Pradesh should be accessible to persons with disabilities. The state government issued a notification in Hindi requesting all departments to comply with WCAG 2.0 and use Unicode font. Nirmita Narasimhan drafted this submission.
Accessible ICT Procurement: CIS along with 20 other organisations petitioned the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information Technology, Govt. of India to bring in accessibility considerations within the draft Procurement Bill.
Comments to the GIGW (Nirmita Narasimhan; April 30, 2015): CIS submitted its comments to the National Informatics Centre for making Indian government websites conform to the notified standards of the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites.
Recommendations on Accessible ICT Procurement (Pranesh Prakash; May 9, 2016). CIS along with 20 other organisations petitioned the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information Technology to bring in accessibility considerations within the draft Procurement Bill.

WIPO

CIS is accredited as an observer at WIPO and regularly participates in the meetings of the Standing Committee for Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) held in Geneva. CIS is actively involved in matters being discussed there such as the TVI. As part of its work, CIS provides comments at the SCCR and advises the Indian government on these matters through policy briefs, research and interactive discussions and meetings. CIS has given several statements on Treaty for the Visually Impaired and prepared an analysis of the consensus document on an international instrument on limitations and exceptions for persons with disabilities with the Third World Network which was widely circulated amongst the negotiators at the SCCR. CIS’ statements at the SCCR in June 2013, July 2012, December 2011, June 2011, and November 2010 are available on the CIS website.

CIS took part in the WIPO Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities in Marrakesh, Morocco, June 17 to 28, 2013. The conference concluded with the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled. CIS's Closing Statement at Marrakesh on the Treaty for the Blind can be seen here.

At the national level CIS has been campaigning for right to read, attending meetings with ministries such as the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and giving feedback on the Copyright Amendment Bills. Earlier this year, CIS gave a detailed analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012 examining the positive changes and the negative ones.

Events

National Workshop on Web Accessibility (Organized by CIS and Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment; September 25-26, 2009).
National Conference on ICTs for Differently Abled / Under privileged Communities in Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship — NCIDEEE 2009 (Loyola College, Chennai, December 1 – 3, 2009): The event was co-organised by Dr. A. Albert Muthumalai S. J, Principal, Loyola College, & Prof. J. Jerald Inico, Faculty In-charge, Resource Centre for the Differently Abled (RCDA), Loyola College, in association with NASSCOM, Computer Society of India and CIS.
CIS organized Right to Read campaigns in the 4 metro cities of Chennai Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai. The campaign has gathered thousands of supporters and has succeeded in bringing the problems of the print disabled to the notice of policy makers and the general public.
EdICT 2010 (New Delhi, October 27 to 30, 2010): CIS in collaboration with G3ict, UNESCO, ITU, WIPO, The Deafway Foundation, DEF and SPACE and with the support from Hans Foundation and the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology organised this event. Twenty-nine experts made presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from discussing challenges and solutions in educational institutions, to technology development and policy formulation and implementation. A total of 77 participants attended this event.
Websites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies at Twentieth International World Wide Web Conference (Hyderabad, March 30 – 31, 2011): CIS co-organised this with G3ict and W3C. The panel discussed web accessibility evaluation methodologies and their challenges and technical survey methodologies alternatives. The panel was moderated by Nirmita Narasimhan and featured four speakers — Shadi Abou Zahra, Neeta Verma, Srinivasu Chakravartula and Glenda Sims.
ITU Tutorial on Audiovisual Media Accessibility (India International Centre, New Delhi, March 14 – 15, 2012): In cooperation with the ITU-APT Foundation of India, CIS hosted a two-day Tutorial on Audio Visual Media Accessibility from March 14 to 15, 2012 at the India International Centre, New Delhi, India.
Girls in ICT Day (Organized by CIS and Mithra Jyothi; Bangalore; April 25, 2013).

Internet Governance Forum
CIS has been organising workshops and participating regularly at IGF events since 2008 on topics like accessibility, access to knowledge, openness, internet governance, freedom of expression, etc. Details given below: IGF 2008, Hyderabad, India: CIS joined the Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards and also contributed to the authoring of the Agreement on Procurement in Support of Interoperability and Open Standards. CIS is now a part of the DCOS secretariat. IGF 2009, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt: Nirmita Narasimhan presented on Accessibility Policy Making: An International Perspective at the Global Internet Access for Persons with Disabilities workshop organised by ITU and EBU on November 16. CIS also co-organised the workshop on ‘Content Regulation, Surveillance and Sexuality Rights – Privacy, Agency and Security’, together with the Association for Progressive Communications, Women’s Networking Support Programme and the Alternative Law Forum. IGF2010, Vilnius, Lithuania: At the UNESCO Open Forum, Anja Kovacs presented the research study ‘Exploring ICT-enabled Education Initiatives for Persons with Disabilities in the Asia-Pacific Region’. The study was undertaken by CIS in cooperation with G3ICT and UNESCO. Besides this, CIS co-organised these workshops: Freedom of Expression or Access to Knowledge: Are We Taking the Necessary Steps towards an Open and inclusive Internet? with the Center for Technology and Society, Brazil, ‘Sexual Rights, Openness and Regulatory Systems’, with the Association for Progressive Communications and the Alternative Law Forum, Open Standards: Ensuring Accessibility and Inclusiveness with the World Wide Web Consortium and the workshop on Data in the Cloud: Where Do Open Standards Fit In? IGF 2011, Nairobi, Kenya: Use of Digital Technologies for Civic Engagement and Political Change: Lessons Learned and Way Forward and Open Spectrum for Development in the Context of the Digital Migration. These workshops were organized by CIS.

Awards

Nirmita Narasimhan was awarded the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the Government of India on December 3, 2010 on the occasion of the World Disability Day. The award was presented by Smt. Pratibha Patil, President of India under the Role Model category. The award function took place at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi and was telecast live on Doordarshan.
Nirmita Narasimhan received the NIVH Excellence Award from Justice AS Anand (retd), former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped in Dehradun on December 3, 2011. The Tribune covered the award ceremony.
Girls in ICT Day 2013 (organized by ITU-APT Foundation of India with support from CMAI - Association of India Communication and Infrastructure, FICCI Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi, May 7, 2013). Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan got a felicitation for her contribution and achievements in the field of Information and Communication Technology. The honour was conferred during the celebration of this event.
Nirmita Narasimhan won the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award in the "Persons with Disabilities" category. The awards aim to raise awareness about accessibility.

Articles and Interviews

Technology for Accessibility in Higher Education: Nirmita Narasimhan wrote an article in Enabling Access for Persons with Disabilities to Higher Education and Workplace - Role of ICT and Assistive Technologies. The IIMB Journal was brought out on the occasion of the conference ‘never-the-less’.
The Business Case for Web Accessibility: NASSCOM Foundation published "Understanding Web Accessibility — A Guide to create Accessible Work Environments". In this handbook on web accessibility, Nirmita Narasimhan authored a chapter titled “The Business Case for Web Accessibility”.
Barriers to Access in a Connected World: Hans Foundation published its Annual Review of 2011. Nirmita Narasimhan wrote an article in it. She wrote that accessibility is an imperative to achieve a truly inclusive and participatory society and every individual, corporation, organization and government has a crucial role to play in nurturing it.
Girls in ICT Portal (November 28, 2011): ITU interviewed Nirmita and published her profile on their website.
An India Where the Disabled have a Choice (Dataquest, August 5, 2016). Nirmita Narasimhan spoke to Dr. Archana Verma about the problems faced by the disabled while using technology.
We Tested 18 Government Apps, and Most are not Fully Accessible to the Disabled (Nirmita Narasimhan; Factor Daily, August 31, 2016).
Mobile Apps Are Excluding Millions Of Indians Who Want To Use Them (Nirmita Narasimhan; Huffington Post; September 22, 2016).

Media Coverage

Nirmita Narasimhan gave inputs to the following media coverage:

DFI and Cambridge University Press join hands for getting print access to the “print impaired” (The Bookseller; November 27, 2009).
WIPO Proposals Would Open Cross-Border Access To Materials For Print Disabled (IP Watch; May 28, 2010).
Disability groups in India welcome progress on treaty for blind persons (The Times of India; December 20, 2012).
Indian Users’ Perspective On WIPO Negotiations On Treaty For Visually Impaired (IP Watch; February 16, 2013).
How tech brings self-reliance to students with disabilities (The Times of India; May 29, 2016).
How India’s top firms fare in employing women and persons with disabilities (Livemit; August 9, 2016).
Using technology to address issues (The Hindu; August 14, 2016).
India has a long road ahead in becoming a disabled-friendly country (Your Story; August 31, 2016).

NVDA and eSpeak

Hans Foundation is funding CIS to do a project on developing a text-to-speech software in 15 Indian languages over a period of two-and-a-half years. Following are the monthly programmatic reports indicating the progress made in the project:

Monthly Reports

2014

		March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

2015

January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

2016

January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August

Training Programmes

Following are the reports of the training programmes that were conducted across several locations in India:

15 days Training in Basic Computing with use of NVDA and eSpeak in Hindi (April 10; 2015).
15 days Training in Basic Computing with use of NVDA and eSpeak in Gujarati (April 16, 2015).

15 days Training in Basic Computing with use of NVDA and eSpeak in Oriya (April 30, 2015).
eSpeak Tamil Computing with NVDA (May 4 – 8, 2015).
Training in Basic Computing with use of NVDA and eSpeak in Assamese (May 9 – 10, 2015).
Training in the Use of eSpeak for Indian Languages during TOT (May 11 – 20, 2015).
Tamil Language (May 25 – 29, 2015).
Training on the Use of eSpeak Hindi on Windows and Android Platforms (May 28, 2015).
Report on 30 Days Summer Course on Basic Computer Competencies and Language Proficiency (May 1 – 30, 2015).
Tamil Computing with NVDA Training Workshop (Organized by NVDA team: Anne Jane Ask with Higher Secondary School for the Visually Impaired, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli; June 3 – 7, 2015).
Report on eSpeak Tamil Computing with NVDA Training Workshop in Tirunelveli (Organized by NVDA team; Anne Jane Askwith Higher Secondary School for the Visually Impaired, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli; June 3 - 7, 2015).
Training in eSpeak Marathi (Organized by NVDA team; National Association for the Blind; Nashik; June 22 - 23, 2015).
Training in eSpeak Marathi (Organized by NVDA team; SIES College, Sion, Mumbai; June 28, 2015).
Training in eSpeak Marathi (Organized by CIS; Atmadepam Society; August 22 – 23, 2015).
Training in eSpeak Hindi (Organized by NVDA team; Jeevan Jyoti School for the Blind; Varanasi; August 26 - 28, 2015).
eSpeak Training in Hindi Language (Organized by CIS and National Association for the Blind; Kullu; September 3 – 4, 2015).
Training in use of eSpeak Bengali with NVDA (Organized by CIS; Turnstone Matruchaya, Siligudi, West Bengal; September 7 – 9, 2015).
5 day TOT for Training in Use of eSpeak Kannada with NVDA (Organized by CIS, Mithra Jyoti, Enable India and NFB, Bangalore; September 21 – 25, 2015; Bangalore).
Training in the use of eSpeak Hindi with NVDA (Organized by CIS and Lakshay for the Differently Abled; September 29 – 30, 2015; Ranchi). The event was conducted online by Dr. Homiyar with local support from Mritunjay Kumar and Zainab.
Report on eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology for Visually Challenged (Organized by National Association for the Blind, New Delhi, Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, and CIS; January 21, 2016; Tiruchirappalli).
Report on NVDA with E-Speak and BookShare Online Library (Organized by Karna Vidya Technology Centre, Computer and Internet Society, and CIS; February 27, 2016; Chennai).

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/resources/cis-accessibility-work-overview

We Tested 18 Government Apps, and Most are not Fully Accessible to the Disabled

nirmita — 2016-09-03T03:32:06Z

When you wake up in the morning, the odds are one of the first things you look at is your phone. You might check WhatsApp, review the news, look at the day’s schedule, and book a taxi to work.

The article was published in Factor Daily on August 31, 2016.

The government, too, is increasingly engaging with citizens through apps such as MyGov and the Swachh Bharat. At the national and local level, these promise to improve the government’s engagement with citizens and increase their access to information.

From electoral information to agricultural news to welfare schemes, these apps promise to streamline the functions of government and allow millions of people who would otherwise have difficulty accessing these services to use them freely.

But for millions of Indians with disabilities, the convenience offered by these apps is almost negligible.

The government has made electronic accessibility one of its priorities. The 2009 Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) laid out a set of standards to which all official government websites were to conform, inheriting the global WCAG standard.

The National Policy on Universal Electronic Accessibility, which came into force in 2013, also mandates equality of access for persons with disabilities in all government electronic infrastructure.

But do these work for people with disabilities?

The Centre for Internet and Society, with the help of an independent researcher, has reviewed 18 most popular government Android apps, and found that almost all of them have inaccessibility and usability issues for people with visual impairment.

The tests were conducted by an Accessibility Evangelist who himself is visually impaired using TalkBack, a screen reading software for Android that gives voice output of the content on the screen. We found that all but a handful of the apps are at least partially inaccessible for visually impaired persons.

We also observed that the government has a directory of websites on its GOIdirectory website. The government offers a similar directory for its apps here.

However, there are no standards or guidelines for app development as in the case of GIGW, and the webpage-based apps often do not conform to GIGW standards.

These are the apps we looked at:

MyGov by Government of India:

What it does: A social media channel of the Indian government to let users access information on government activities and spread educational content to Indian citizens.

How accessible it is: It is a purely web-based app, but the web page it loads isn’t completely accessible. The graphics in particular are poorly labeled.

The animations they use are also inaccessible, and the banner that scrolls the new announcement is completely unusable for visually impaired persons.

2. EPathshala – NCERT

What it does: A platform for accessing eBooks through mobile platforms in multiple formats, and enabling users to download, store, browse and read books.

How accessible it is: The first screen that allows language selection is not labeled properly — only the Hindi and English buttons are correctly announced. Many of the options that are available on the screen are not labeled with text, only graphics.

Even if a visually impaired person managed to download the books, it is not possible to read them, as the screen reader does not support accessing the downloaded content. The books themselves are just PDF or JPEG images, which are completely unusable by any screen reading software. In addition, the reading mode available for the books is itself inaccessible for visually impaired persons.

3. Accessible India Campaign

What it does: A platform to report accessibility issues in public buildings and spaces and an information platform for the Accessible India Campaign.

How accessible it is: Fairly accessible, Good Work!.

4. Narendra Modi

What it does: The Prime Minister’s official app delivers information and messages from the Prime Minister’s Office.

How accessible it is: Completely inaccessible. The very first screen cannot be navigated by someone who is visually impaired. If one manages to get past that somehow the controls on the rest of the app are labeled in all caps, which makes using the screen reader difficult.

If one selects the feed option and follows a topic, the controls on the content screen are all simply labelled “Narendra Modi.”
However the text is presented using standard web controls, which means that once navigated to a page can be accessed using a screen reader.

5. LIC Mobile

What it does: Delivers information about various insurance policy schemes and allows users to submit an application online.

How accessible it is: The app is accessible until the point of login and account creation. The information in the customer policy credentials is not presented in an accessible format. The agent portal needs further testing as well. In addition, the use of graphical captchas is inaccessible for those with visual impairments. A captcha in a different format would have been more logical.

6. MyGov Move

What it does: Allows users to register and volunteer for various government initiatives in government-run elementary schools that lack resources.

How accessible it is: Except for the text heading, none of the controls are labeled. Some controls are accessible to persons with low vision as the text in the button graphics is quite large. However, they are still graphical and not text-based, and so cannot be used by the screen reader. The national symbol is also not labeled.

7. IFFCO Kisan Agriculture App

What it does: Allows farmers to access customized agricultural information and services including weather forecasts, agricultural advisory information, best practices and tips, and a platform for buying and selling goods.

How accessible it is: It is accessible not just in English but also in Hindi. There are some minor errors, such as Delhi not being listed as a state or certain buttons not being correctly labelled, as well as the list of languages lacking support in the native script of that language. However, overall it is one of the more accessible apps reviewed.

8. mPassport Seva

What it does: Allows citizens to access information, schedule appointments, and view updates related to all passport-related services.

How accessible it is: Decently accessible, except for the appointment scheduling function, which uses a captcha. The buttons in the app are also not labelled in an accessible format. Several text fields also use all capitals, which causes the screen reader to spell the word instead of pronouncing it.

9. IRCTC Connect

What it does: Lets users check train schedules, manage ticket booking and plan journeys.

How accessible it is: The very first screen that asks the user to select between various sub-services is completely inaccessible, with no text labeling available. However, once past that screen, most of the other services, such as ticket booking and PNR status checking, are fairly accessible. Many options still use all caps, which makes screen readers spell words rather than pronounce them.

Another issue is that selecting a particular option causes the displayed content to change, but the focus moves to the top of the screen, requiring another round of navigation when using a screen reader.

10. MyGov

What it does: A citizen participation platform that allows users to discuss their views on various issues and make suggestions directly to ministries and other government organisations.

How accessible it is: Some controls are labeled with text and can be used with screen readers, but several other buttons are labeled graphically or are difficult to navigate in accessible ways due to poor focus/tab order.

There are many videos available through the app but no transcripts of these talks are available.
The focus while navigating the app is highly inconsistent and makes its use very inconvenient. The main navigation menu is also inaccessible.

11. Swachh Bharat

What it does: Provides information and lists events relating to cleanliness drives across the country.

How accessible it is: The starting screen of this app is cluttered with controls and information, making it difficult to navigate with a screen reader. A few controls are labelled with text, but the majority are inaccessible.

12. Aadhaar Mobile

What it does: Enables users to download and share their details as they are stored in the UIDAI database.

How accessible it is: The first screen lacks alternate text for any of the controls and graphics. The user could not register their Aadhaar card in order to continue testing the app.

13. India Post Mobile Banking

What it does: Offers financial information and transaction services for India Post banking customers.

How accessible it is: The initial screen controls are accessible. However, the user was unable to successfully login to conduct further tests.

14. Swachh Delhi — Official App

What it does: Allows residents of Delhi to report waste and garbage dumps around the city.

How accessible it is: All major features of the app are accessible. However, the reporting function requires a user to use their phone’s camera app, which may be prohibitive for visually impaired persons. It would have been preferable to allow users to simply report a location without requiring a picture as well.

15. Swachhata: MoUD

What it does: Allows users to register complaints with the local municipal body about trash or waste in their neighbourhoods.

How accessible it is: A permissions error led to the user being unable to access the app.

16. All India Radio Live

What it does: Offers streaming of public service, entertainment and informational content in Hindi, Urdu and other major regional languages.

How accessible it is: The app is completely inaccessible. A user can select a channel, but further controls on the screen lack labels or consistent focus.

17. DD News

What it does: Provides live streaming, video feeds and news updates from DD-News in English and regional Indian languages.

How accessible it is: Minimal use of graphics and clear labelling mean that the app is generally easy to navigate. However, the videos available through the app do not have supplementary text descriptions.

18. AIIMS@Delhi

What it does: Allows patients of AIIMS to view and manage their medical history, book appointments, and contact medical professionals.

How accessible it is: The app is simple and uses standard controls, which are generally large and well labelled, making navigation and reading for visually impaired persons comfortable. User lacked the UHID necessary for further testing.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/factor-daily-august-31-2016-nirmita-narasimhan-we-tested-18-government-apps-most-are-not-fully-accessible-to-disabled

Report on eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology for Visually Challenged

nirmita — 2016-04-02T06:33:55Z

The Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore and National Association for the Blind, New Delhi in collaboration with Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli organized a workshop on eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology for Visually Challenged at Centre for Differently Abled Persons, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli on January 21, 2016.

The eSpeak with NVDA Screen Reader and Assistive Technology workshop planned for 1day (21st January 2016) for those stakeholders in Colleges and Volunteers working with visually challenged students was inaugurated in the morning by Mr. S. Shankar Subbiah, Assistive Technology Consultant and representative of Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore, and National Association for Blind, New Delhi, the sponsors for workshop. He gave a talk on the purpose of the Workshop and need for use of Assistive Technology among the visually challenged in the present educational and employment context. Dr. M. Prabhavathy, Asst. Professor and Centre Head gave the Welcome address and Vote of thanks, thanking the participants for their interests on empowerment of visually challenged and their earnest efforts to training them.

The well-equipped and accessible ICT lab of the Centre for Differently Abled Persons, at Kajamalai Campus, Bharathidasan University served as the venue for training. In order to facilitate the participants with more concentrated and time efforts, High Tea and Lunch were also served during the workshop. The participant trainees were from Tiruchirappalli district and nearby districts like Karur, Pudukottai and Thanjavur of Tamilnadu state.

The workshop began with Resource persons, Dr. Prabhavathy and Mr. S. Shankar Subbiah gave an introduction on eSpeak with NVDA and various other Assistive Technology available for visually challenged in education as well as future employment opportunities. Emphasis was laid upon how colleges and university could source them, setup resource centres for visually challenged with access to accessible format of information.

In the afternoon, Mr. K. Navarasan, Visually challenged Assistive Technology Expert gave a live demonstration on eSpeak with NVDA screen reader working on various Data processing and other application tasks. Both, English and Tamil with eSpeak TTS was demonstrated. Also, explained about DAISY format and Bookshare, Online library membership and how it helped visually challenged. He narrated his personal experience as a Post Graduate in English how he was benefitted. And, demonstrated, how a visually challenged person who could login to Bookshare, download books and read through DD Reader+.

The one day workshop had the Valedictory function in the evening presided by Prof. V.M. Muthukumar, Hon. Vice Chancellor, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli who delivered the valedictory address and got the feedback from the participants on whether the workshop was useful and added that they should encourage the students in their college and known to them for using technology. Vote of thanks to CIS, NAB and the organizers was given by Dr. M. Prabhavathy, Asst. Professor and Centre Head and the training felt much useful ended up with the National Anthem.


Picture above shows distribution of certificates at the event.

Feedback

Mrs. Ra, Vijaya Priya, Assistant Professor, Government Law College, Trichy gave the feedback, how the training was helpful and would be useful setting up a center in their college, as there are many visually challenged students now taking law as profession and also was happy to have their own students attending the workshop to be motivated by Mr. Navarasan, as he could demonstrate to them all the possibilities of eSpeak with NVDA and also Bookshare.

Dr. V. Vethavalli, Assistant Professor, Coordinator for Visually Challenged, Assistant Professor, Bharathidasan University Constituent College, Orathanadu felt the workshop was much useful personally to know all the assistive technology available for visually challenged and she would encourage the college for the intake of visually challenged in their college knowing all such technology is available for Tamil and English typing. She also appreciated Mr. Navarasan for his participation in the workshop and do a live demonstration on online library access which encouraged others.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-espeak-with-nvda-screen-reader-and-assistive-technology-for-visually-challenged

Report on NVDA with E-Speak and BookShare Online Library

nirmita — 2016-04-02T05:54:55Z

With the objective to sensitize and impart the skillset in handling NVDA – the Screen Reader and the usage of BookShare Online Library for the print disabled to the Special Educators, Karna Vidya Technology Centre in collaboration with Computer and Internet Society conducted a one-day Workshop on NVDA with E-Speak and BookShare Online Library on 27 02 2016 (Saturday) at Karna Vidya Technology Centre. Special Educators from Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur totaling 48 have participated actively and got benefited from the Workshop.

Sessions on introduction to and installation of NVDA, Tour of different Menus and Cursors, Learning Tamil Keyboard Layout and introduction to BookShare Library were held with practical exercises. All the Special Educators were given participation certificates along with handouts on NVDA, Tamil Keyboard and BookShare in a folder. Many Special Educators expressed their satisfaction and appealed for a full-fledged workshop for 3-4 days to have an in-depth understanding of NVDA and BookShare Library.

Ms. Divyashree, Deputy Collector trainee, Thiruvallur and other guests graced the function by their precious presence.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-nvda-with-e-speak-and-bookshare-online-library

National Compendium of Laws, Policies, Programmes for Persons with Disabilities

nirmita — 2016-02-05T02:16:36Z

This compendium was compiled by the Centre for Internet & Society in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, has written the Foreword.

Preface

India, one of the longest continuous civilizations in the world is also home to one of the largest populations of persons with disabilities. According to the 2011 census, around 2.21% of its population or around 26.8 million people have disabilities of some form or the other. While the country is developing rapidly, persons with disabilities are often left out of the process. Sometimes they are completely neglected from consideration and measures do not take into account their needs by virtue of being non inclusive. On other occasions, there may be special measures for some disadvantaged groups, but persons with disabilities may not be recognised as a separate group, with distinctive needs.

Overall, there is a clichéd understanding about the needs and abilities of persons with disabilities, limiting efforts made towards their progress. Even in cases where some effort has been made, information about these measures is not available to persons with disabilities and their family members, who are consequently unable to avail of them. Additionally, the insensitivity of rules/ schemes/ procedures/ persons makes it difficult for persons with disabilities to benefit from them. However, regardless of the reason, the fact remains that there is a huge gap in the communication of information from policy makers, administrators and law makers to persons with disabilities as well as their family members, organisations and other concerned groups and institutions.

It is extremely important to bridge this information gap in order to enable persons with disabilities to participate equally in development. Better access to information will enable them to avail of schemes/provisions for their benefit and will consequently enable governments to assess whether they have made adequate provision in various domains as well as identify gaps which need to be addressed.
Finally, accessibility of information will also facilitate the participation of government and persons with disabilities in implementation of measures and increase transparency and accountability

With this aim in mind, The Hans Foundation decided to engage with Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) to put together a comprehensive resource on disability related policies across India. It gives us great pleasure to publish this resource and we hope that it be of great help to the community.

Ms. Sweta Rawat
Chairperson
The Hans Foundation

Click to download the PDF version of the book here. (File size 1.72 Mb approx.)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/national-compendium-of-laws-policies-programmes-for-persons-with-disabilities

Report on use of eSpeak Bengali with NVDA

nirmita — 2015-11-09T15:57:18Z

NVDA team conducted a training programme at Turnstone Matruchaya, Siligudi, West Bengal from September 7 to 9, 2015. Fourteen delegates attended. Nirmal Verma was the language trainer.

Day 1

Turnstone Matruchaya is an NGO working for the upliftment of Blind and other under privileged sections of the society. Located in midst of tea gardens, Turnstone Matruchaya had a perfect location for conducting a traning session.

The workshop was attended by 14 computer teachers and special educators for the blind. The participants came from Sikkim, Darjeling, various districts of West Bengal etc. The participants had some idea about NVDA, though support for indian languages was a new concept for them. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm for learning to read and write in Bengali and Hindi.

The workshop started with a round of introductions, where in each participant also spelt out his or her needs and expectations from the workshop. Most of them expressed the need for learning about an alternative screen reader, which would help them read and write in their vernacular language.

This was followed by understanding the benefits of NVDA in comparision to other screen readers. The participants were taken for a brief tour of the NVDA home page and explained the process of downloading the installer for NVDA.

A hands on demonstration was given about installation of NVDA, followed by the participants installing NVDA on their systems.

This was followed by introduction to the menus of NVDA, and their utility. Each participant was instructed to configure NVDA, as per their requirements. They were instructed to select a suitable voice variant and rate, and also make certain changes in the keyboard and mouce settings.

They were than given Bengali text to read. This text was taken from a Bengali daily newspaper. All the participants were very comfortable with the Espeak TTS, and were able to comprehend the text.

Day 2

Day 2 started with introduction to the Bengali keyboard, followed by practice of typing words and sentences. The afternoon session was dedicated to writing practice, which was followed by a session on Bookshare as a source of accessible reading material.

Day 3

Day 3 began with a revision session for Bengali keystrokes. This was followed by a session on using Espeak on Android. Various other features of the Android platform were also demonstrated during the session.

The afternoon session was dedicated to giving information about different schemes for the benefit of the Blind. The participants were informed about the ADIP scheme, Loan scheme of Saksham, E-card scheme of Railways etc.

The workshop ended with a feed back session. All the participants expressed their deep gratitude for the workshop and have promised to send their feedback on a regular basis.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-use-of-espeak-bengali-with-nvda

Report on the Training in the Use of eSpeak Hindi with NVDA

nirmita — 2015-10-04T10:52:40Z

This workshop was organized by the newly established NGO called “Lakshay for the Differently Abled’”. The main objective of the organization is to spread the knowledge of Assistive Technology amongst the Visually Impaired population of the State of Jarkhand.

The event was conducted on-line by Dr. Homiyar over skype, with local support from Mritunjay Kumar and Zainab.

The participants were a mix of Trainers and students from all walks of life. They had come in from all parts of Jarkhand and Bihar.

The event started by an inauguration by the local Municipal Deputy Mayor. The DY. Mayor of Ranchi promised a new premises for the newly formed NGO during his inaugural speech.

The main training began with a round of introductions and Expectations from the participants.

This was followed by sessions on Introduction to NVDA, Advantages of NVDA, Download and Configuration of NVDA and Configuration of Windows for Hindi.

The post lunch session was dedicated to explanation of different menus of NVDA, followed by comprehension of Hindi text using Espeak.

The last session was used to introduce the Hindi Inscript Keyboard.

Day 2 started with a quick revision of the Keyboard followed by an extended session on Hindi typing.

The post lunch session was dedicated to Bookshare and Reading and Writing on the Android platform.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-the-training-in-the-use-of-espeak-hindi-with-nvda

Report on 5 day TOT for Training in Use of Espeak Kannada with NVDA

nirmita — 2015-10-04T10:34:33Z

A unique programme was organized in partnership with Mitra Jyothi – Bangalore, Enable India – Bangalore and NFB Karnataka. The aim of the programme was to empower the Computer Teacherrs for the blind in the use of Espeak Kannada and apprise them with Modern Teaching Techniques for the Blind.

The training programme was held from September 21 - 25, 2015 at Mithra Jyoti in Bangalore. Fourteen delegates attended the programme. Suresh, Sandesh and Moses from Enable India were the trainers. NFB Karnataka helped in sourcing the participants, Mitra Jyothi hosted the event and the female participants and the trainers were from Enable India.

The workshop started with a round of introductions and expectations from the participants. All the participants expressed various needs, which include the following:

Need to learn to read and write in Kannada.
Need to learn new teaching Techniques.
Need to learn how to make accessible materials for teaching computers.
Need for learning EYE tool and /spelling tools.

The participants were a blend of Sighted and Blind Trainers. The Sighted trainers were very keen in knowing all they could about the new Teaching Techniques and the Screen Readers. They were also excited to know more about Assistive Technology for partially sighted students.

The Blind trainers showed special interest in NVDA and Assistive Technology.

The Session began with an introduction to NVDA and its advantages followed by a detailed presentation by Suresh.

The validation function was conducted by Major A. Singh – CEO Mitra Jyothi.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/report-on-5-day-tot-for-training-in-use-of-espeak-kannada-with-nvda

eSpeak Training in Hindi Language

nirmita — 2015-10-04T08:43:22Z

National Association for the Blind, Kullu hosted a 2 day training in the use of eSpeak in Hindi language with NVDA for its special educators, in-service blind, and blind students. The programme was attended by 20 participants who came from all parts of Himachal Pradesh.

The event started with a round of introductions and expectations. Most of the participants expressed their desire to learn Hindi typing in order to either use it in their workplace or use it during their studies.

This was followed by an introduction to NVDA. NVDA was new to most of the participants, and they were amazed to know the benefits of NVDA compared to other commercial screen readers.

The next session was dedicated to installation of NVDA, introducing different menus and configurations options.

This was followed by a comprehension of Hindi text. Barring just 2 candidates, all others were able to understand the text immediately.

The day 2 started with Hindi keyboard. Participants were taught the use of Inscript keyboard. They were also taught configuring hindi keyboard in Windows.

Writing words and short sentences was the next item in the training, in which most of the participants excelled beyond expectations. Most of them started writing sentences with ease.

The post noon session was reserved for spreading awareness about different sources for obtaining accessible reading material, including Bookshare; android and its advantages, different sources for obtaining easy finance for purchase of computers and laptops, information about ADIP schemes.

The workshop was covered by E-TV HP and they filmed the participants typing in Hindi.

The event ended with a vote of thanks from the President NAB Kullu- Mrs. Shalini Vats.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/espeak-training-in-hindi-language-1

Training in eSpeak Marathi

nirmita — 2015-10-04T07:33:30Z

NVDA team conducted a training programme in Marathi language on August 22 and 23, 2015 at Atmadepam Society in Nagpur. Twenty-two participants attended. Harshad Jadhav was the trainer.

Atmadepam Society, Nagpur conducted a 1st of its kind workshop for the use of Espeak with Marathi at its campus from the 22nd to 23rd August 2015. This workshop was mostly attended by students pursuing higher studies in Marathi and Inn-Service Blind.

The workshop began with understanding the needs of the participants. Most of them expressed the need to learn Marathi typing to enhance their job prospects in the government sector.

This was followed by a session introducing different advantages of NVDA over other screen readers. Installation of NVDA was than demonstrated, followed by a hands-on session of the same for all the participants.

Post lunch the participants were guided for installing eSpeak for Indian Languages, which was followed by a detailed understanding of the Marathi keyboard layout.

Day 2 started with a revision of learnings from day 1, followed by extensive practice of the keyboard.

Post lunch, participants were given information about different sources of obtaining Accessible Reading materials. Bookshare and its benefits were introduced as a part of the reading solutions. This was followed by dissemination of information about the ADIP scheme of the Government of India.

The workshop ended with a session on feedback, where in students expressed their deep satisfaction after achieving their goal of Reading and writing in Marathi.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/training-in-espeak-marathi

India’s missing disabled population

nirmita — 2015-09-10T16:31:49Z

The highest rates of disability are amongst those who are vision-impaired, and those who have problems to do with movement.

The article by Sachin P. Mampatta was published in Livemint on September 7, 2015. Nirmita Narasimhan gave her inputs.

Nirmita Narasimhan remembers the census takers coming to her home. They didn’t ask her question number nine. It was about disability. They said that it makes people uncomfortable.

Narasimhan is a policy director who works on disability issues at The Centre for Internet and Society, an NGO. She insisted that they ask questions on disability. Later, she found out that others too had a similar experience. Those conducting the census often skip the question. Sometimes families are reluctant to talk about it too.

The result is that India has far lower reported instances of disability than most other places in the world. This also means that policy action is effectively running blind, unsure of the scale of the disability issues in the country or its specifics.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a report in 2011 estimated that 15.3% of the world’s population deals with disability of one kind or the other. The 2011 census puts India’s disabled at 2.21% of the population.

India's low incidence of disability

The average number of disabled people in India is lower than the global figure as well as the number for high income countries. It is also lower than the corresponding figures for low-income and middle-income countries (between and including African to Western Pacific in the chart).

Different categories as percentage of total disability

Disabilities related to movement, hearing and sight are the most common, according to the Census


Above: A bar chart depicting the world population with disability. India is at lowest. Source: Global Burden of Disease estimates for 2004 (World report on disability 2011 - World Health Organisation), Census 2011 Get the data

The latest census number is not very different from that of the 2001 census when the disabled populace was at 2.13% or from the 2002 National Sample Survey figure which estimated this figure at 1.8%. That just points out for how long the problem has been prevalent in official statistics.

The WHO report used statistics from the Global Burden of Disease estimates for 2004 for comparison. But the situation now is likely to be worse. A WHO factsheet says that “rates of disability are increasing in part due to ageing populations and an increase in chronic health conditions”.

Many people don’t disclose disability because of stigma. Global figures also take into account age-related disability, and those whose function is affected by issues such as diabetes. India does not count these among the disabled. Here, the categories are largely traditional such as blindness and deafness. The highest rates of disability are amongst those who are vision-impaired, and those who have problems to do with movement.

Different categories as percentage of total disability

Disabilities related to movement, hearing and sight are the most common, according to the Census.


Above: A bar chart depicting the percentage of various forms of disabilities Source: Census 2011 Get the data

While the scope of definitions is part of the problem, India’s disability estimation problem is not unrecognized.

“In India, the disability sector in general estimates that 4-5% of the population is disabled. The Planning Commission recognizes this figure as 5%. A report by the World Bank states that while estimates vary, there is growing evidence that persons with disability… constitute between 4-8% of India’s population,” said a December 2011 International Labour Organisation report by Meera Shenoy called, “Persons With Disability and the Indian Labour Market: Challenges and Opportunities”.

The lower-than-actual figures have other repercussions. What’s the literacy rate among the disabled, for instance? The census, of course, says that more than 54.51% of India’s disabled population is literate. But policy analysts such as Narasimhan say that may be inflated again because of under-reporting.

“The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan has contributed to getting a lot of children into school, and the thrust has largely been seen over the last decade or so. Unfortunately, many may not be able to continue in school, though they do manage to attend for a couple of years. This may be enough for them to pick up sufficient skills to be declared literate, where the test is generally rudimentary, say the ability to write your own name. But this does not translate into employability. The majority would still not be able to meet basic criteria required for landing a job. The resources required to make this happen is far in excess of the current expenditure,” said Dipendra Manocha, president, founder and managing trustee, Saksham Trust.

Census data shows that 63.66% of the disabled population is not working compared to 60.21% of the able-bodied. But those working in the field say that employability figures are likely very poor on account of limited resources and difficulties in providing them with skills which could lead to employability. While some among these in the census are students or draw a pension, the majority remain dependent on others.

Status of disabled non-workers

The majority of disabled non-workers are dependent on others, and most don't draw a pension. (Figures are as percentage of overall disabled population, those part of the work-force are not included).


Above: Bar chart depicting categories of disabled population. Source: Census 2011 Get the data

The need for greater attention and resources to this segment is clear from the fact that India’s disability numbers, even with the under-reporting, is higher than the population of entire nations.

Scale of the issue

India's disabled population is higher than the total populations of several countries, despite the under-reporting.Figure below shows India's disabled numbers, and total population (disabled + non-disabled) of other countries.


Above: Bar chart depicting India's disabled numbers. Source: Census 2011, World Bank (Figures for 2011) Get the data

A 2007 World Bank report says that while India has one of the most progressive disability policy frameworks in the developing world—what with acts such as the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995—implementation is poor. The report’s key recommendation is to “get the basics right”, especially identifying people with disabilities as soon as possible after onset. Almost a decade later, nothing seems to have changed.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/news/livemint-sachin-p-mampatta-september-10-2015-indias-missing-disabled-population

August 2015 NVDA Report

nirmita — 2015-09-03T14:55:28Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/august-2015-nvda-report.pdf