Lucknow/Gorakhpur (UP), Nov 24 (PTI) Aamir Lulia and Aniket Bhanushali, both born with hearing impairment, were destined for mundane jobs like making laddoos or embroidery after completing Class 10. But that was not to be in this case.
A chance interaction of their mothers with the co-founders of an NGO helped them get higher education and enter the formal job market.
With extensive help from TEACH, which works towards building an equitable ecosystem for the deaf and hard of hearing students, both now have a BCom degree. Aamir Lulia now works in the HR department of TEACH, while Aniket Bhanushali manages accounts for a company in Thane.
Training and Educational Centre for Hearing Impaired (TEACH), co-founded by Deepesh Nair and Aman Sharma in Mumbai have been working since 2016 to bridge the gap between higher education and employment opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
Less than one per cent of the universities and colleges in India are only accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing students and it underlines a significant gap in access to education for such people, Nair told PTI in a telephonic interview on Sunday.
He said TEACH aims to bridge this gap for the deaf and hard-of-hearing-students after they complete their class 10th by going beyond academic support and by offering a comprehensive holistic development model that influences all other stakeholders.
Amir’s mother Hasina Lulia and Manjula Bhanushali, mother of Aniket, recalled how bleak the future once seemed for their children.
Hasina Lulia’s elder son, who also suffers from hearing impairment, ended his education after Class 10 in absence of adequate opportunities due to his disability.
But Aamir was lucky to have the support of TEACH, who worked very hard for him, and made him achieve something substantial in life, Hasina Lulia told PTI.
Nair, for his efforts in building an equitable ecosystem to facilitate higher education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, he has been selected for the Professor Yeshwantrao Kelkar Youth Award 2024.
The award initiated by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1991 recognises outstanding work in education, society, environment, and science by young individuals.
"In 2016, we started TEACH in Mumbai, and have currently expanded over Pune and Delhi, serving 400 students. So far, 60 students have passed out, and are employed in various jobs such as HR, finance, accounts and audits,” Nair said.
The idea of ‘TEACH’ came in 2014, while volunteering in one of the special schools, only for hearing impaired children, in Mumbai, he said.
In special schools like these instead of imparting education in mainstream subjects like English, Mathematics, History and Geography, children were learning about laddoo making, saree embroidery, milk and milk products after they cleared class 10th, Nair said.
Upon enquiring, it was told that these students could not do much in their lives, so the maximum they can do is get a normal job or an odd job or do some housekeeping job, he added.
"This mindset came as a challenge to us," he said.
Another "trigger point" for the duo was that why was there no deaf student, who has completed MBA. This was when they were working at a multinational corporation (MNC) in Mumbai and were pursuing executive MBA.
Nair, who is 35-years-old, said initially they started teaching subjects like Mathematics, computers, language, subsequently developing a commerce model under which BCom was taught.
“During this, we also realised that only education will not give them jobs, so we added skill programmes as well into the teaching module, as per aspirations and capabilities of the student. So what we do is that we see where the ability of the child lies," he said.
He added that if the child is good in numbers, then it means he/she can pursue BCom along with accounts and Tally programming and if the child is creative, along with B Comm, designing is taught.
"All children learn computers and basic IT skills. We also work on their mental health, building characters. Additionally, we work with corporates and sensitise them on how to work with deaf children including sign language. At present we are working with 30-plus corporations," Nair said.
He also said that most placements are happening in accountancy and analytics, but a large number of students are also good at designing.
Currently, the students are graduating from the University of Mumbai and from 2026-2027, the students will also pass out from IGNOU, Nair said.
When asked what is the biggest challenge he has to deal with, Nair said, "Currently, the biggest challenge is that of space. In a city like Mumbai, we have a space only for 280 children," he said.
“This year 150 students had applied but we could only enrol 60 students. We are struggling to accommodate more such deaf children, who look up to us and want to move forward in life,” he added.
Nair said that from next year, they want to impart this kind of expertise to other like-minded organisations, so that students who are unable to reach TEACH, can also benefit.