PANJIM: Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has decided to introduce Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) in a bid to provide accessible education to children with special needs.
Goa will be the first State in the country to introduce the technical standard facility ensuring that nearly 12,000 special students study through digital audio books, periodicals and computerized texts. “Our aim is to provide better quality education to special children. It will help them live a normal and dignified life. The Board is also involved in introducing several concepts and technologies to help such students and encourage them to study,” an official said.
DAISY is an internationally recognized accessible multi-media publishing system, compatible with the World Wide Web. This new system is expected to open up a wider choice of reading for those who are blind and others who are unable to use standard-size print.
“It provides an enriched multimedia reading experience that is completely accessible and has embedded navigation levels for content. The system comprises advanced features having text and audio synchronization, and can support Braille output. Moreover, it also provides adjustable character display,” he said.
Meanwhile, out of about 1,200 special children pursuing SSC at 25 schools, only 40 from three institutions – Sanjay School for Special Children, Lokvishwas Prathisthan and St Xavier’s Academy – appeared for the Board examination in the just concluded academic year.
