Country’s premier design institute admits first wheelchair-bound student in 50 years but finds itself unprepared to handle students with special needs.
Tomorrow, I should be in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. My life should take a new turn. New city, new people, new friends. This all should make me excited as I, Vishal Sawant, got admission in one of the best design institutes in the country. It’s like a management student who wants to learn from IIMs. For a designer, getting admission into NID is a dream. My dream partly came true.
Yes you read it right. Partly. I’ve done my part.
This is what Vishal Sawant, a physically challenged designer from Pune, wrote on his blog. His excitement at gaining admission to the National Institute of Design (NID) is palpable in each word.
Just as tangible is the crushing disappointment he experienced on visiting the country’s premier design institute. The amazingly lavish, green campus ‘where you can see creativity flowing through every nook and corner’ was not designed for wheelchair-bound students.
Having given the 30-year-old admission to its graphic design department, authorities of the 50-year-old institute hastily built a ramp to the first floor. While the temporary ramp will help Vishal access the first floor which houses his classroom, library, graphic studio, printing lab and IT lab, he will not be able to visit the auditorium which is on the second floor. The auditorium is where conferences, seminars, guest lectures, film screening and important activities take place.
The authorities also plan to construct an elevator and design a special toilet for the physically challenged. The question is: How long will the institute take to complete the work? Vishal will lose precious academic days as the new session began on Monday.
Tomorrow, I should be in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. My life should take a new turn. New city, new people, new friends. This all should make me excited as I, Vishal Sawant, got admission in one of the best design institutes in the country. It’s like a management student who wants to learn from IIMs. For a designer, getting admission into NID is a dream. My dream partly came true.
Yes you read it right. Partly. I’ve done my part.
This is what Vishal Sawant, a physically challenged designer from Pune, wrote on his blog. His excitement at gaining admission to the National Institute of Design (NID) is palpable in each word.
Just as tangible is the crushing disappointment he experienced on visiting the country’s premier design institute. The amazingly lavish, green campus ‘where you can see creativity flowing through every nook and corner’ was not designed for wheelchair-bound students.
Having given the 30-year-old admission to its graphic design department, authorities of the 50-year-old institute hastily built a ramp to the first floor. While the temporary ramp will help Vishal access the first floor which houses his classroom, library, graphic studio, printing lab and IT lab, he will not be able to visit the auditorium which is on the second floor. The auditorium is where conferences, seminars, guest lectures, film screening and important activities take place.
The authorities also plan to construct an elevator and design a special toilet for the physically challenged. The question is: How long will the institute take to complete the work? Vishal will lose precious academic days as the new session began on Monday.
Questions Galore
On his blog, vishalsaw.blogspot.in, the 30-year-old posted some pertinent questions following campus visit:
• If there is a physically handicapped category, why isn’t the campus wheelchair-friendly?
• Why are there ramps on the ground floor, if you can’t access the rest of the building?
• Why are there no lifts to go to the first and second floors?
“It does not matter if you have admitted physically handicapped students. What matters is if you are ready for such students,” he wrote.
However, after finding about the efforts being made by the institute, he said, “I have heard they have built a temporary ramp which gives direct access to the first floor. It is encouraging that they are being sensitive to our needs.”
Vishal, who graduated in Political Science from Fergusson College in Pune, added, “I hope the authorities will provide residential accommodation as it will be difficult for me to commute to campus every day. It will be tough for me to travel on my electric wheelchair during monsoon.”
This request has put NID authorities in a fix as they do not provide hostel facilities to post-graduate students due to lack of sufficient rooms.
Director Pradyumna Vyas said, “As a design institute, NID is sensitive to the needs of specially abled. We also plan to build an elevator and toilet for barrier-free accessibility. It might take a month or two to complete the work.”
About hostel accommodation, Vyas said, “We offer hostel facilities only to undergraduates.”
Source: PuneMirror