State’s only Braille press can print books for just 500 students

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 29

The state’s only Braille press that provides free-of-cost school books in Braille script to hundreds of visually impaired students fails to fulfil the demand every academic season.

Procured from Sweden by spending Rs 17 lakh, the Braille printing machine (also called Braille book maker) was instaled in Ludhiana by the state’s Department of Social Security and Development of Women in 1996.

Sources said with a capacity of printing maximum 300 pages per hour, the machine can provide books of various subjects up to Class X only to 500 students that too with huge delay.

“Every year, the press, which is rated as low capacity equipment, takes at least four to five months to print books for just 500 students. Students receive a complete set of books not before August. Moreover, the number of students seeking these books has increased up to 950 this year,” said an officer.

He added, “Besides low printing capacity, the major reason behind delay is preparation of master template of books of those subjects, whose syllabus is changed by the Punjab School Education Board. Every year, three to four books with changed syllabus are introduced. Normally it takes Braille experts over 20 days to prepare master template of 100 pages.”

Facing the trouble every year, now the state government has decided to upgrade the press from the financial aid provided by the Centre.

Confirming the plan to upgrade the press, Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu, Director, Social Security, however, expressed inability to share the details.

However, sources said the Centre had provided financial assistance of Rs 1 crore to Punjab to buy a new press that would have the capacity to print over 1,000 pages per hour.

“After instalation of the new machine, the press will be able to print over 5,000 books within a span of just one to two months,” said an officer.