Deaf daughter denied admission, Batala mum opens own institute

Ravi Dhaliwal

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Batala, November 7

Batala’s Ramandeep Kaur, a simple housewife, is a success story all by herself. A decade ago when her hearing-impaired daughter was denied admission by private schools in the city, she vowed to learn the sign language.

Her motto was: “If you cannot teach children with disabilities, I will teach them.” She spent a long time trying to master the sign language. Finally, when she achieved proficiency, she opened a four-room institute, ‘Jaisman School for Deaf’, in her house. The school has 30 students, all differently abled. Ramandeep was a young mother in Australia when she got to know her daughter Jaisman was suffering from a deformity. “When doctors in Melbourne informed me about it, I was distraught. I and my husband decided to return to Batala. After some time, we opened the institute,” she says. Ramandeep says her daughter is currently preparing for Class X examination, and that her infirmity will in no way hamper her progress. She speaks highly of her protégés, especially Mehakdeep Kaur, terming her as a “computer for all problems”.

She says her children match the ability of those studying in private schools and challenges anybody to test their skills.

Journey from Australia to Punjab

• Ramandeep Kaur and her husband returned to Batala from Melbourne when told that their daughter Jaisman could not hear or speak
• Denied admission by schools, Kaur learned the sign language, opened own institute
• The institute at her residence now caters to 30 students