education and employment of the blind: the case of west...
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® EDUCATION A N D E M P L O Y M E N T OF THE BLIND - THE CASE OF WEST BENGAL
Bikas C. Sanyal, P .K . Giri, M . Roychowdhury, A . K . Pati,
. R . K . Mukherji, N . K . De
V . J
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П Е Р research report ® EDUCATION A N D E M P L O Y M E N T OF T H E BLIND - T H E CASE OF W E S T B E N G A L
Bikas C . Sanyal, P . K . Giri, M . Roychowdhury, A . K . Pati, R . K . Mukherji, N . K . De
A study undertaken within the framework of the Research Project on Higher Education and Employment directed by В . С Sanyal
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE F O R EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
(established by Unesco) 7 = 9, rue Eugène-Delacroix,, 75116 Paris
© Unesco 1986
The authors arc responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in these papers and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of the Institute and do not engage the responsibility of- Unesco.
Research Report No.55
To what extent are the blind aware of the availability and benefits of education? Are there mechanisms to inform them of education and employment opportunities? What are the problems that an educated blind person faces in securing suitable employment? What might discourage the blind from pursuing education? H o w does the society treat the educated and employed blind? Can planning of education contribute in reducing their plight? These are some of the questions that the authors have attempted to answer in this book based on in-depth surveys of the blind population and their employers in a State of India«,
(i)
PREFACE
As 1981 was the International Year of Disabled Persons, the
Governing Board of the International Institute for Educational Planning
(UNESCO) approved a research study to be conducted on education and
employment of the blind in order to derive implications for educational
planning for the rehabilitation of this seriously disadvantaged group.
This followed the special emphasis of Unesco's Director-General on
education for disabled persons in his speech at the World Conference on
Actions and Strategies for Education, Prevention and Integration, held
in Malaga, Spain, in 1981, and the "Sundberg Declaration" adopted at that
Conference.
The H E P felt it should direct its attention to a noteworthy
experience on education and employment for the blind in India, which
was taking place in the educational complex of Narendrapur in West Bengal.
It decided therefore to launch a study on this unusual attempt to tackle
such a delicate problem as the social and economic integration of the
blind in contemporary society. It included such a research within the
framework of its programme on education, employment and work under its
previous Medium-Term Plan (1978-83).
The research involved tracing a selected sample of blind school-
leavers in the State of West Bengal, and interviewing the employers of
blind workers. A control group of blind individuals, who had not had any
formal education or employment, were also the subject of investigation.
The results of the research are presented in this book.
Tracing the blind school-leavers and gathering the information
required for the study proved an arduous task for the local researchers.
Examples of this type of research are few, not only in India but around
the world. The H E P is therefore grateful to them and to the members of
the Ramakrishna Mission at Narendrapur, whose initiative and dedicated
efforts for the welfare of the deprived sections of the society are
internationally well known. Without their support this study could not
have been completed.
(ü)
It is hoped that the results of this research will have a useful
impact on the planning of education for the blind. I feel sure that
the study will contribute to the knowledge-base on the blind community
and help highlight their problems and their prospects.
Financial support for this study has been provided to HEP by the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Norwegian
Agency for International Development (NORAD), and this is acknowledged
with gratitude.
Sylvain Lourié Director, HEP
(iü)
CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX В
APPENDIX С
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND IN WEST BENGAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS
EDUCATION FOR THE BLIND
TRANSITION FROM EDUCATION TO WORK
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE OF THE BLIND
SOCIAL STATUS OF BLIND IN WEST BENGAL
EMPLOYERS' PERCEPTION ABOUT THE BLIND EMPLOYEES
THE BLIND BEGGARS
PRINCIPAL FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT FOR THE BLIND
Statistical Tables
Questionnaire for trained blind
Questionnaire for employers
21
38
46
53
64
83j
88
91
94
105
114
133
136
(iv)
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge with thanks the intellectual support of the Members of the Advisory Committee set up for the Study consisting of: Swami Lokeswarananda, Swami Asaktananda, Swami Prabhananda, Mr» SoS, Chakrabarty, Mr e G e Dawn, Mr0 A* Chankrabarty and Mr , T* Chakrabarty«,
They are thankful to Mr e P 0 K 0 De and Dr» Sc Mitra for their assistance in the data processing,,
They are also grateful to Mr» Shapoor Rassekh, formely HEP consultant for his contribution to the initial design of the project and to Ms* Kay Brownriggj, the HEP project secretary for her assistance in the different stages of the work«,
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1. The rationale of the study ~~
More than 450 million people in the world today are denied
the precious gift of full physical or mental faculties, the use of an
important limb or a normal function, and do not have access to adequate
facilities for treatment, medical and educational rehabilitation,
employment, or a normal social life. Most of them, especially in the
developing countries, pass their lives in frustration and misery, often
without even a ray of hope for the future.(1) They are the disabled,
about whom the society is still too often ill-informed about their status
and needs. As Mr. Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, Director-General of Unesco, states:
"Very often it (the society) even tends to deliberately ignore them,
preferring to reject them, to treat them as outcasts, to shut
them up in special institutions whose principal purpose is to allow society
to forget them - whereas what the handicapped need, on the contrary, is to
get out of their ghettos, assert themselves as individuals in their own
right, participate fully in social and cultural life, and perhaps even
become essential contributors to productive activity."(2)
The plight of the disabled continues, along with the tendency
towards indifference on the part of the society, despite the efforts of
Unesco to redress the situation through the establishment, a long time ago,
of a special unit to promote education for the handicapped, and the
Declaration on the rights of disabled persons by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1975 and adoption of the year 1981 as the International Year
for Disabled Persons (IYDP). At the Unesco General Conference in 1980 in
Belgrade, it was unanimously decided to hold a conference to identify,
study and define the main lines of international action in favour of
special education, prevention, re-education and of assistance to the disabled.
The IYDP Conference attempted to review the present situation and examine future
prospects for the education of the disabled to (i) make education more
suitable for their needs, (ii) provide more effective prevention of
disability, and (iii) to rehabilitate disabled persons for integration into
society.
(1) H.J.M. Desai. Planning Employment Services for the Blind in Developing Countries, ïvorld Council for the ?7elfare of the Blind, Paris, 1981.
(2) Unesco,Speech by A.M. M'Bow to the World Conference on Actions and Strategies for Education, Prevention and Integration, Malaga, Spain, 1981.
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Rehabilitation has been defined as 'the process of restoration _^_
of the handicapped to the fullest physical, mental, vocational,, economic
and social usefulness of which they are capable'.(1) Mr. M'Bow is
more precise when he identifies the role that education could play in
this nrocess:
education stands out as one of the essential keys to any serious action for the disabled. In preventing disabilities, in caring for those suffering from them and in helping them to return to an independent and active life, education plays a decisive role. Naturally, the education and information in question are intended for the disabled, but they also, and more especially, concern the whole population. Such education, then, must be education in its broadest sense and include systematic, comprehensive information that the mass media are rrow capable of bringing to all sectors of society throughout the world.
The first requirement is education as a means of prevention. The fact of the matter is that many mental and physical defects--especially of congenital origin--can be prevented if families are aware of and observe certain health rules. Similarly, many disabilities due to industrial or traffic accidents could no doubt be prevented if the necessary legal and administrative regulations were drawn up and if those concerned showed a greater sense of responsibility in observing the necessary precautions.
Once the harm has been done, there is a need to educate the disabled person and those around him to cope better with the inevitable difficulties they will have to face. Education, in such cases, is both for the families, friends and neighbours who are in daily contact with the affected person and for the disabled person himself, so that the combined efforts of all of them gradually make it possible to create the circumstances thai will help the handicapped person to live an increasingly full life.
As for the handicapped themselves, it seems vital to m e to start by making every effort so that they can participate as fully as possible in normal education and can receive suitable vocational training leading to paid work. When the nature of the handicap makes this impossible, of course, special education must be organized. In every case, instruction and training must be provided and supervised by specialized teachers, and it must be given at an appropriate pace, following appropriate syllabuses and methods, using suitable equipment and with adequate medical assistance. This calls, more so than in normal edu-
(1) H . J . M . Desai, op . cit.
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cation, for an individualized form of teaching that takes account of differences, strives to adapt to the particular needs of each group and each,, individual and encourages the members of a group to help--rather than compete with--one another.
Education, by a combination of these approaches, can help not only to solve the present problems of the handicapped but also, in the longer term, to instil in society as a whole attitudes and behaviour that will gradually lead it to eliminate the causes of the main avoidable handicaps.111 (1)
For education to fulfil the above tasks, educational planning
plays an essential role as does research on the problems of the disabled.
The World Conference on Actions and Strategies for Education, Prevention
and Integration, organized jointly by Unesco and the Government of Spain
in November 1981 in connection with the International Year of Disabled
Persons, resolved that:
"Research aimed at increasing knowledge and its application
in furtherance of the aims of this (Sundberg) Declaration,
especially for adapting modern technology to the needs of
disabled persons and reducing the cost of fabrication of
equipment, must be encouraged and the results of such research
disseminated widely in order to promote the education, cultural
development and employment of disabled persons."(2)
Before education could be used as an instrument to redress the
situation of the handicapped, it is imperative that the handicapped be
identified. This was the objective of the analysis of the present
situation of the disabled undertaken by Unesco for the organization of
the IYDP Conference. Unfortunately, very little information exists on the
disabled. The figure of 450 million quoted at the beginning of this
chapter is only an estimate, with all likelihood of it being an
underestimate for various reasons. Only those countries which have
undertaken population censuses in recent years have an item on the
physically handicapped. Even the census returns are to be doubted in
terms of accuracy, because of the enumerators' lack of knowledge on
the definition of terms for handicap and also because of a certain
resentment in disclosing physical handicap, especially in the developing
countries for reasons of societal attitudes mentioned above and due to
superstitious beliefs that still persist, e.g. that congenital handicap
is the result of sins committed in previous lives. Added to this is
(1) Unesco, Speech by A.M. M'Bow to the IYDP Conference at Malaga, op.cit.
(2) Sundberg Declaration, Article 13, in Final Report of the IYDP Conference at Malaga, Unesco, Paris, 1982.
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the fact that in many developing countries the handicapped live in
isolated areas, on unlisted livelihood, namely begging, are scattered
and out of easy reach of the census enumerators. Lack of accurate
statistics however should not stand in the way of finding means to
redress their situation. This is the rationale behind the all out
effort to provide equality of opportunities for the handicapped and
to ensure their full participation in the life of the community.
That education can play an important role in this respect is clear
from the foregoing and particularly from the statement of Mr. M"Bow.
However, planning has to precede the organization of the delivery
system and it is here that educational planners have a responsibility
and obligation towards the handicapped.
Emphasis on the aspect of integration and rehabilitation of
the handicapped was the basis of'the Recommendation of the General
Conference of the International Labour Organization, held in 1955,
that vocational guidance and training and selective placement be
designed to enable the disabled to secure and retain suitable employment.
It is in this context that the International Institute for Educational
Planning of Unesco endeavoured to include in its research programme
a study on the planning of education for the blind - one of the most
important groups in the community of disabled. There is no single
established recipe applicable to all handicapped persons everywhere
and at all times. This is why the blind have been singled out for a
study within the framework of the IIEPEs research programme on education,
employment and work. It was felt that such a study, launched during
the International Year of Disabled Persons, would not only enrich the
knowledge-base on the potential of the blind, the possibilities for
their rehabilitation, and the relationship between education and employment
of the blind, but would also be a contribution to Unesco's programme on
education and integration of disabled persons.
Some interesting experiments of rehabilitating the blind are
being conducted in India. It was thought that an evaluation of such
experiments, in a State where no such research had yet been undertaken,
would allow for unravelling some of the complexities of the relationship
between education and employment of the blind. It would also provide
information on the programmes of rehabilitation, so far unknown to the
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educational planner. Before going on to discuss the objectives and """"
methodology of the research, it might be useful to throw some light
on the nature and dimension of the problem of the blind in India.
2. The blind in India and the problem of their rehabilitation
In India, the blind suffer from the same difficulties as in
many other developing countries; because of misconceptions about the
potential productive capacity of the blind and superstitious beliefs,
like all other handicapped persons the blind are treated with pity
and are rejected. Until Independence, there was not much scope for
their rehabilitation, except for a very few cases which will be mentioned
later. The Constitution of India proclaims the country as a welfare
state, and concern for the deprived has been one of the main goals of
the country's development strategy. A number of educational institutions
for the blind were set up throughout the country, not only by the
government but by a large number of voluntary organizations and
philanthropists. It was in India, at its Fourth World Assembly Meeting
in 1969, that the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, in
co-operation with the ILO, developed the plans for setting-up an
International Documentation Service for the Blind and the Visually
Handicapped (BLINDOC), and which was accepted in 1974 by the ILO.
The main objectives of BLINDOC have been dissemination of techniques
for vocational guidance, training and employment of the blind, and to
collect information on new approaches of integrating the blind into
active community life.
In 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, the
Government of India laid down the following plans of action for the
disabled:
(i) to evolve a national policy on the disabled to include
education, training, and employment, full social
integration, and guaranteed protection under
the law.
(ii) on this basis, to lay the foundations of a network of
services for the handicapped that reach the grass-roots
level so that a comprehensive rehabilitation service is
eventually provided, with a perspective development
plan for rehabilitation.
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(iii) To initiate in this chain a few practical programmes
that would bring immediate and significant benefit
to the handicapped themselves.
(iv) To initiate concrete programmes aimed at bringing
about the realization in every possible way, the
integration of handicapped people into the community.
Currently there is a strong tendency to institutionalize
the handicapped. This tends to inculcate amongst them
a sense of dependence which prevents them from fully
participating in community life even after they leave
the protective walls of institutions. It also tends to
create a certain amount of aggressiveness leading to
maladjustment at- work and in other social settings.
(v) To give a positive rural bias to services for the
handicapped since in India a great majority of handicapped
persons live in rural communities.
(vi) To develop a strong national disability prevention
programme. Currently, only a national programme
for the prevention of blindness is in operation.
(vii) To prepare a base for research and development
through the national institutes, institutes of technology
and other bodies.
(viii) To develop and initiate a planned network for information
and publicity services for dissemination of information
on new techniques and equipment for the handicapped
and for employers, teachers and social workers.
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As of 1981, India had at least nine million economically or -̂
legally blind people, with many more suffering from severe visual
handicaps. Estimating the number of blind people in India suffers
from the same limitations mentioned before, and the error is always
biased downwards. What is striking is the fact that compared to an
earlier estimate of the Government of India, made in 1944 for India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh taken together, the 1981 figure is four and
a half times more.(l) This indicates that the blind population is
increasing at a faster rate in India than the population in general.
Improvement in methods of collecting statistics, although not yet
satisfactory, could also explain fiis. But one must be concerned if
this is the only reason for such a fast growth rate, and if not
preventive measures must be adopted to arrest this increase.
We have mentioned before how little the society knows about
the blind and the reasons for this lack of knowledge. If the condition
of the disabled is to be improved, means for rehabilitating them through
respectable social identities must be found. Although education is
one of the essential ways to any serious action for the disabled, it
is also imperative to know what would make their employment possible.
In the world today, unemployment is almost a universal problem,
and employers have an abundance of able educated people from whom to
recruit. As quoted by one author, the experience of a distinguished
blind professor in search of a job who was told "when we are getting
finished goods in the market, why take damaged ones".(2) If this is
the attitude of the employers, it must be changed for the blind to be
rehabilitated and employed. This reaction is a reflection of the lack
of knowledge on the productive capacity of the blind. Information is
now available on suitable types of jobs for the blind.' , But what is
not known are the perceptions of the employers about the blind from their
own experience and those of the blind themselves about their own capabilities.
If they are to be rehabilitated properly, it would be useful to know
whether education and employment change the social status of the blind.
In a developing country, they are very often isolated and not permitted
to prove their capabilities in performing work carried out by those with
sight, or they are sent out for the illicit practice of begging. Both
(1) H.J.M. Desai, Planning Employment.Services for the Blind in Developing Countries, pp. cit.
(2) Sushma Batra,, Social Integration of the Blind, Concept Publishing Co., New Delhi, 1981, p.5.
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would discourage a blind person from undertaking any formal, organized —
training. For a rehabilitation programme to be successful, it is
imperative to know what would make them pursue education/training, what
kind of information is needed and what should be the source of that
information? What is the suitable duration of studies for the blind
to rehabilitate themselves?
Once the blind have been trained, how can their transition from
training to employment be facilitated? What should be the methods of
recruitment? How should the training be organized to increase contacts
with the employers in order to remove the latter's inhibitions concerning
the capacity of the blind? What is the role of stop-gap jobs (post-
training, pre-employment sub-contract work in a sheltered workshop)?
What role does training play in getting a job and what other efforts
should complement the training for finding employment? Who gets a
regular job (open unemployment), who ends up self-employed and who remains
unemployed, and why?
What type of employment (type of firm, nature of the job and
skill category) do the blind get and to what extent is their training
used? What is the attitude of co-workers on the job? To what extent
is a blind person satisfied with the job, what is the relationship between
earnings and training, and what role do characteristics such as age, sex,
age of blindness, marital status, home region, parents' education and
income, influence the training and employment characteristics of the blind?
All these are questions of considerable importance in planning education
for the blind, and most of the answers are unknown.
3. Review of literature
Very few research studies have been undertaken on the blind to
look for possible answers to the problem. The National Association
for the Blind in India has explored the different possibilities of employmen
for the blind in the context of a developing country(1),(2) in a descriptive
way«, Based on surveys of existing institutions, this Association has come
up with concrete and very useful recommendations on planning of basic
(1) H.J.M. Desai, op. cit.
(2) Mohammed Rajhi et. al., Planning Basic Rehabilitation Programmes for the Visually Handicapped in Developing Countries, World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, Paris, 1979.
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rehabilitation programmes and employment services for the blind» __
The Delhi School of Social Work surveyed all the institutions for the
blind in Delhi in 1969(1) to prepare a plan for the welfare of the
blind in Delhi» A survey of the vocational and educational facilities
for the blind in Delhi was also carried out in 1979 by P. Matani(2)
of the National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development»
These studies, except for the last one are mostly descriptive ; Matani's
work aimed at assessing the facilities» A similar study was undertaken
by Shanta Vadhyar for college-going blind persons in Bombay in 1976.(3)
In 1975, the Blind Relief Association in Delhi surveyed for the first
time the attitudes of employers towards the employability of the blind
within their organizations(4) and concluded that the employers were
reluctant to engage blind persons even though they are more efficient in
certain types of work.
The Workshop for the Blind(5) in Bombay undertook another study
to assess the employability of the blind and surveyed both employers and
employees, to conclude that purely sheltered forms of employment were
not conducive for the blind. Ramachandran(6) in his study recommends that
the profession of physiotherapist could be very suitable for the blind.
Their adjustment in the society was also the subject of two other
studies(7),(8), although with different approaches.
(1) Sita Basu, A Plan for the Welfare of the Blind in Delhi, Delhi School
of Social Work, Delhi, 1969.
(2) P. Matani, Educational and Vocational Facilities for the Blind,
National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, Delhi, 1979.
(3) Shanta Vadhyar, 'A Survey of Awareness and Utilisation of the Facilities
available to the Blind and Orthopaedically Handicapped Students studying
in Colleges of Bombay City', LBMRC Research Newsletter, Vol»No.1-4,July 1976.
(4) Report on Emerging Path to Independence, A Project Report on exploring
new ways of Rehabilitating the Blind, The Blind Relief Association,Delhi,1975.
(5) The Workshop for the Blind, An Investigation of rehabilitation Workshop
methods which would foster the Absorption of Blind Workers into Open
Competitive Employment, Bombay, 1963-69.
(6) P. Ramachandran and T» Pandiarajan, Training the Visually Handicapped as
Physiotherapists: a Feasibility Survey, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Bombay, 197.1.
(7) Urmil Nagpal, The Adjustment Problem of the Blind, Central Institute of
Education, Delhi, 1971.
(8) Report on Adjustment of the Blind „ a Study on the Reciprocal Attitude
of the Blind and the Sighted, The Blind Relief Association, Delhi, 1979.
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None of these studies however went into details to find implications
for educational planning. The study closest to the present one in approach
and scope was undertaken by Sushma Batra(I) with the objectives of looking
into the problems of social integration of the blind in the context of
the city of Delhi. The study analysed the attitudes of both blind and
sighted persons towards the integration of the former with the latter,
based on sample surveys with scientific sampling techniques. There were
useful findings on the demographic characteristics, educational and economic
status, physical mobility, social rehabilitation and integration, awareness
of the general public of the potentialities of the blind, and attitudes
of employers. Given the global nature of the scope of the study, and
the limited spatial scope, analysis of the questions mentioned above
and particularly those related to education and employment are not
covered. The study was based on 60 blind individuals (of whom 32 were
employed), 160 sighted individuals and 22 employers. Even though the
blind sample size was small, the study brings out interesting findings.
4. The present study
From the literature available on research related to the problems
of the blind can be seen the dearth of emphasis on the implications for
planning of education for employment of the blind. A study on blind
persons who had undergone education/training was felt to be useful because
their experience could provide us with the means to improve upon
training for employment. The technique of 5tracer studies', applied in
the research programme on education and employment at HEP, was found to
be suitable in order to attempt to answer the questions raised above
on the problems of education and employment of the blind.
The scope of the present study was therefore limited to those
blind individuals who had received some kind of training, and also to
one state of India, West Bengal, where at present there are nine schools
for the blind that have trained over five hundred persons. The study
also includes an analysis of the perceptions of employers and a group
of untrained blind persons who live by begging.
4.1 The objectives of the study
As already indicated, the broad objective of this study is
to derive implications for planning of education for employment of the
(1) Sushma Batra, Social Integration of the Blind, op. cit.
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blind. The immediate objectives are:
(i) to identify the causes of blindness and the role of
education/training of the family to prevent blindness;
(ii) to identify the extent and adequacy of information/guidance
available to the blind on education/training and employment
facilities;
(iii) to identify the motivating factors for pursuit of
education by the blind;
(iv) to examine the match between training and needs for
skills on the job;
(v) to identify the type of job that a blind person can
have with different types of education/training, and
the criteria for job selection;
(vi) to examine the influence of education, employment and
marriage on the social status of the blind;
(vii) to identify factors that lead to open employment,
self-employment and unemployment of the blind after
training ;
(viii) to examine the relationship between training and
earnings of the blind ;
(ix) to identify the problems that blind employees and their
employers confront on the job and to compare the
blind workers' performance with that of other workers.
4.2 The hypotheses
Based on the questions raised earlier on the problem of
education and employment of the blind, some of the main hypotheses tested
in our study are given below:
(i) the probability of an individual being a victim of
adventitious (non-congenital) blindness reduces with age;
(ii) the causes of adventitious blindness are associated with
the educational level of the parents ;
(iii) the nature of treatment received to prevent total blindness
is associated with the educational level of the parents;
(iv) a significant proportion of blind people are not informed
about the availability of training and employment
opportunities in the society;
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(v) career guidance facilities are inadequate for the blind;
(vi) the standard methods of recruitment and standard selection
criteria are not followed in the case of the blind;
(vii) stop-gap jobs (sheltered employment) as a part of their
training facilitates employment of the blind;
(viii) the level of the occupation held by a blind person is
related to the extent of his/her general academic
qualifications ;
(ix) the degree of association between the type of training
and the needs of the job and remuneration received is
insignificant; -
(x) the social status of the blind increases with education,
employment and marriage;
(xi) a blind person who is self-employed has less education
than a blind person who is regularly employed ;
(xii) lack of information is an important reason for unemployment
of the blind.
5. Methodology of the research
5„1 The conceptual framework
The conceptual framework on which the present research has
been conducted is based on the assumption that any programme of rehabilitation
of the blind is tied up with the social set-up of the community: the
attitudes of the people, the state of their knowledge on the capabilities
of the blind, the infrastructure for education and training of the blind,
and the spontaneity of initiative taken by the community for their employment.
The criterion of economic productivity has to be replaced by the
more global criterion of social satisfaction of the different groups of
the society, including the blind. It is important to stress that the blind,
have the right to exercise a respectful social role for the overall benefit"
of the society, and not only economic benefit. The arrangements for
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education of the blind have to be planned in such a way that their
resource potential is explored and utilized effectively. This might
need special methods of instruction and content, different types of
organization of their education and training with implications for
different types of physical facilities and other resources. An
analysis of the state of the art of attitudes of the society towards
the blind and the arrangements for their education therefore forms the
initial element of such research. For their rehabilitation, the
working environment, methods of recruitment, and selection criteria
also need to be analysed for further adjustment to suit the blind to
perform their respective roles in an effective way. The attitudes of
the employers towards the blind are a part of the overall social attitude.
All this has to be kept in mind when education for the employment of
the blind is planned. This is the macro-aspect of the relationship
between their education and employment.
What is more important however are the micro-aspects of the
relationship. In this, our analysis rests on the assumption that we
are concerned with individual human beings and individual enterprises
and institutions that will support the programmes of education and
employment of the blind. Their background, attitudes and expectations
play an important role in their rehabilitation and their education.
We believe that the social set-up, including the educational arrangements,
influences the behaviour, attitudes and expectations of the individuals,
their families, the community, and their expectations in respect of the
social role. But, the latter is influenced directly by the individual
characteristics (age, sex, marital status, type and extent of blindness)(1),
the family characteristics (family size, the education, occupation and
income of parents') and the community characteristics (region of home,
caste).
Similarly, motivation in respect of education is generated
directly by the motivation in respect of occupation, availability of
education, the individual, family and community characteristics, and
indirectly by the social set-up. The educational career (including stop-gap
job, if any) pursued by a blind person is directly influenced by the
(1) Type of blindness: congenital, adventitious. Extent of blindness: total blindness, perception of light, residual vision.
- 14 -
educational expectations, the education system, and individual, family
and community characteristics, and indirectly by the occupational
expectations, and the social set-up through the micro-characteristics
(individual, family and community variables, and type and extent of
blindness).
The occupational career (open employed(1), self-employed and
unemployed) is directly dependent upon the educational career, the
labour market situation for the blind, the occupational expectations,
and the individual, family and community characteristics, and indirectly
upon the social attitudes and the education system. The items of
occupational career are: career information received, placement services,
recruitment methods, selection criteria, waiting period to obtain a job,
working environment, type of job,"type of firm, criteria for promotion,
salary, job satisfaction, attitudes of the sighted workers and employers,
and utilization of training on the job for the blind who are employed.
For those that are unemployed, the items are: causes of unemployment,
remedial measures for employment of the blind.
Finally, the social status is directly dependent upon the
educational and occupational career and the societal attitude towards
the blind, and indirectly dependent upon the individual, family and
community characteristics. The items for social status are: attitudes
of the family, neighbours, friends and relatives before and after
education, employment and marriage.
The above conceptual framework is demonstrated in Diagram 1.
(1) Regular market wage-employment.
- 15
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- 16 -
One of the most unresearched groups amongst the blind is
that of blind beggars. The generosity that supports India's beggars
is deeply rooted in religious tradition. In the past, alms were given
only to religious men who lived off community goodwill? to give them
food,, shelter and money was considered an honour. Traditionally,
beggars used to gather at the temples and other holy places to receive
the offerings of the pilgrims. Some Hindu customs, such as the ceremony
of the sacred thread of the Brahmins, obliges, and in some cases even
now, adolescents to beg for three days as a symbol of humility. Hindu
rituals,such as the annual "Shradha" in honour of the ancestors,
require that food be given to Brahmins.
Although the nature of giving has changed over the years, the
notion that the giver will be rewarded has not. The growing affluence
of some urban areas and this belief that the giver will be spiritually
rewarded sustains an increasing beggar population, even though begging
has been declared illegal in India. In 1982 even, a national federation
of beggars was set up to promote the interest of the beggars. In the
words of the president of that federation: "This is a profession like
any other and as old as any other".(1)
In a social set-up like this, many of the blind take up begging
as a profession, and find it lucrative, in spite of the anti-begging laws
and national attempts to change traditional attitudes. In order to try
to identify how blind beggars could be motivated to undertake training
for legal employment, the present study undertook the challenging task
of interviewing some blind beggars.
5.2 Data needs
A conceptual framework like the one described above requires
considerable data and information on the attitudes of the society towards
the blind, on the labour market for the blind, and the educational facilities
available to them. As well as information on the individual, family and
community characteristics, and the behaviour, perceptions and attitudes of
(1) International Herald Tribune, Paris, 27 April 1983.
- 17 -
the blind within the family, the community, the education system and
the employment market. Information on the macro-characteristics such
as the educational and societal set-up may be available from published
documents, but statistics on the micro-characteristics can be obtained
only through surveys and interviews specially organized for the information
needed.
A questionnaire was designed to collect information on the
micro-characteristics (individual, family and community variables) of
the blind, their expectations and attitudes, educational career,
occupational career and social status. Also included in the questionnaire
were items to obtain information on the perceptions of the blind concerning
the operation of the labour market in respect of recruitment practices,
information mechanism, wage policy and promotion methods (see Appendix 3) .
To analyse the attitudes of the employers towards the blind,
and especially their perceptions on the performance of blind workers on
the job, the need for further training, the problems confronting a
blind employee and the employers on the job, and measures to reduce such
problems, a separate questionnaire was administered amongst selected
employers having blind workers (see Appendix ç. ) The objectives of the
study and list of hypotheses given before were the basis for formulating
the items of both questionnaires.
5.3 Collection of data
The questionnaire was administered to those blind persons
who had been trained in different educational institutions during the
period 1970-80; 535 addresses were available from the institutions.
It was possible to establish personal contact for 225 cases, which have
been included in this study. These individuals were scattered throughout
the State, and tracing them was an extremely difficult task. In some
cases, to reach just one individual, the investigator had to travel for
several days by train, boat and on foot. The investigators were given
orientation sessions on the methods of interviewing to ensure accurate
answers to the questions, and were also briefed on the objectives of the
study. Despite a nearly 50% non-response rate, the sample has a reasonable
- 18 -
extent of representativity of the population in respect of the important
characteristics. The largeness of the sample size allowed for statistical
analysis based on normality assumption.
The blind beggars were also interviewed by the investigators
using the same questionnaire but only for the questions directly
relevant to them.
A list of the employers having blind workers was obtained from
the Special Employment Exchange Office of the government. Initially,
25 employers were contacted, and 15 allowed personal interviews with
those responsible for the personnel departments.
5.4 Method of analysis
Univariate analysis was undertaken to study the nature of
the sample for different characteristics. Bivariate analysis was
performed for testing the hypotheses on the degrees of association between
two characteristics. Chi-square statistics were used for significance
tests. Multivariate regression analysis was undertaken to study the
influence of relevant explanatory variables on the dependent variables,
namely the salary and waiting period to obtain a job. This allowed for
controlling the influence of other explanatory variables while analysing
that of a specific variable. In the regression analysis, categorical
variables such as sex, region, employed/unemployed were located as dummy
variables. The F-statistic(1) was used for significance tests.
Discriminant analysis was undertaken to identify the degree of influence
of the different characteristics on such phenomena as employed, unemployed
or self-employed. The standardized discriminant coefficients provided
the degree of importance of the different characteristics. The Statistical
Package for Social Sciences(l) was used for the analysis of the data on
the trained blind.
The information on the employers was analysed manually because
of the small size of the sample. The information on the blind beggars
was also analysed in the same way.
(1) For a description of the different analysis techniques, see Nie et al., Statistical Package for Social Sciences, McGraw Hill, London, 1975.
- 19 -
6. The presentation of the study
Following the conceptual framework given before, the study
starts with a descriptive analysis of the societal attitudes towards
the blind in the State of West Bengal and the development of educational
facilities and employment services for the blind. There follows a
chapter dealing with the characteristics of the respondents in respect
of their regional distribution, parents' education and income, sex,
marital status, age, age at which blindness occurred in the case of
the adventitious blind, the nature, extent and causes of blindness,
and the type of treatment followed to cure blindness. Analysis of
these aspects already provided information on the nature of the blind
population and some planning implications, such as the role of parents'
education on the causes of blindness and type of treatment received,
and the distribution of educational facilities for the blind, etc.
This analysis was followed by an analysis of the educational background
of the blind including the motivating factors for pursuit of training,
adequacy of information on educational opportunities, etc. This also
provided some implications for planning of education.
The next chapter deals with the rehabilitation of the trained
blind, with pre-employment programmes and stop-gap jobs, methods of
recruitment, selection criteria, the problem of unemployment, relevance
of training for the needs of the job, etc.
This is followed by an analysis of the employment experience
of the blind in respect of the working environment, relation between
employment and pre-employment training and job satisfaction, factors
promoting self-employment, and an analysis of the determinants of earnings.
In respect of the trained blind, the last task undertaken was
an analysis of their social status and the role of education and employment
in uplifting this status. The perceptions of the employers in respect
of the rehabilitation of the blind constitutes the last analytical chapter.
The problem of untrained blind beggars was treated separately because of
the special nature of the problem and the small size of the sample.
The concluding chapter deals with the principal findings and
implications for planning of education for employment of the blind.
- 20 -
7. The limitations of the study
Although the present study is based on the largest sample of
trained blind persons so far undertaken of significant depth in India,
this study suffers from the limitation of non-response from a considerable
proportion of the trained blind population, and the small size of the
employers' sample and that of the blind beggars. The parents of the
blind should also have been the subject of investigation because they
are the key persons in changing the living conditions of the blind.
However, resource limitations did not permit us to increase the response
rate, the sample sizes, and the inclusion of the parents in the analysis.
Nevertheless, it is hoped that the results of this study could add to
the knowledge-base on the planning of education for employment of the
blind and on the blind community.
- 21 -
Chapter 2
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BLIND IN WEST BENGAL
2.1 Historical aspects of thé development of education for the blind, evolution in form and type
The institutionalised services for the blind are an amalgam of
Christian ideals of charity and the early bourgeois ideals of welfarism.
With the emergence of a capitalistic social system, the individual became
the focal point - the single man and his family became the unit. More and
more people were evicted from the land - the modern urbanization of life in
the West began in the Eighteenth Century on a grand scale. As the ability
to earn a living and to maintain one's family became the standard for
weighing one's social worth, those who were handicapped in any way to do so
came to be regarded as social misfits. In a society based on the theory of
"Laissez-faire", keen competition and individual independence, these
alienated handicapped persons became a social liability. So, out of a
sense of responsibility towards these people, there arose the theory of
social welfare and many homes and institutions sprang up in Europe to take
care of the handicapped.
But in India, the idea of welfare never emerged as a historical
necessity. The British colonised a feudal society with medieval ideals
and outlook. The family tie and the clan dependency for everything in an
Indian's life was very deep. On the other hand, the traditional religious
beliefs made the Indians intensely individualistic in their attitude towards
society. Moreover, the entire society (both Hindu and Muslim) was divided
and subdivided into different castes, creeds, class, etc. With the advent
of the British Raj, the process of progress stopped and the Indian society
remained stagnant for 200 years.
In this colonial-feudal environment, the development of the ideals
of welfare of the fellow being could not survive. On the contrary, self-
aggrandisement by carrying the ruling powers8 favour increased. A han
dicapped man in the community could not arouse the sympathy of others to
the extent of inspiring them to do something for him. The system of beg
ging had social and religious sanction. So, a blind beggar was not regar
ded as a social outcast. Moreover, in the extended families, the existence
- 22 -
of one or two handicapped persons did not make any difference to the family
or to the Patriarch. They were regarded as natural and inevitable parasites.
Such social ties began to wear out during the Second World War.
But before that, the individual's security in the family was never seriously
threatened. So, a blind man, be he a beggar or a parasite, was never
thrown out of the family, thereby necessitating the establishment of homes.
In the british India, there were some orphan homes, because the orphans had
no family - but the handicapped persons were not so visibly deserted as the
orphans, so they did not create any social problems.
In India, educational institutions for the blind did not gradually
evolve out of an asylum concept as it happened in the West» There was no
asylum or home for the handicapped in ancient or medieval India« Nor do we
know of any such effort even after the advent of the British up to the
beginning of the Twentieth Century. The extended (joint) family system and
general acceptance of handicapping conditions as fate most probably account
for the lack of effort for establishing homes for the blind, even by the
English Christian missionaries»
The Nineteenth Century is sometimes described as the "Renaissance"
period of Bengal. The period saw the emergence of the ideals of political
democracyä, nationalism and social reforms. Even in this "so-called
Renaissance", the consciousness about the handicapped persons was cons
picuously absent in the writings of the Bengali Reformers« It seems really
strange that though in the sixties and seventies of the Nineteenth Century
great strides were being made in Europe, and in England in particular, the
English missionaries and the colonial government did nothing mentionable in
this area. Of course, there was a blind heroine in Bankimchandra's novel !SRajanis' before 1880, but we do not find any serious writing on the blind or
blind education before 1885« In this year, we find a little article on s'How blind children are taught to read and write in the West" by Upendra
Kishore Roychaudhuri in a children8s magazine "Sakha".
2.2 How blind education started in West Bengal and when
The first school for the blind in India was started in Amritsar in
1889 by two English women. Two years later, another school was established
in Palaykottai in South India. During this period (1888-92) an English
- 23 ~
man named Mr. Garthet Wet came in contact with Rev. Lalbehari Shah and Sri
Ramananda Chatterjee, the Editor of Modern Review. Whether the establishment
of two schools in different corners of India, or the contact with Garthet Wet
had any influence on Lalbehari Shah in starting a school in Bengal in 1894,
we do not know for certain. We know so far that both Lalbehari and
Ramananda learnt braille from Garthet Wet - Ramananda out of intellectual
curiosity and Lalbehari out of necessity to teach his first students.
Lalbehari started the school (the Calcutta Blind School) with three
adolescent boys in his own house. That was done not for providing them
with a home but for the expressed aim of teaching the blind. He prepared
himself for this task beforehand by learning English braille from Garthet.
He used his knowledge to invent a Bengali Braille Code, which later came to
be known as Shah Braille«
But a little before that, Ramananda Chatterjee discussed the pos
sibility of producing Bengali Braille in his Modern Review and published an
article on Bengali Braille in a periodical named Dassi (1897), which came
to be known as Chatter jee Code«, In 1944, a Committee was set up by the
Government of India under the Chairmanship of Sir Clutha Mackenzie to
regularise different Braille Codes prevalent in India. The result was the
Bharati Braille.
Since its inception till the outbreak of the Second World War, the
Calcutta Blind School (CBS) remained the only institution of its kind in
the whole of Bengal and provided, though in a limited way, educational
services to the blind. In the twenties and thirties, it produced some
eminent blind persons in Eastern India» But, except school education (inc
luding traditional music and crafts), its activities did not enter
into other areas of services for the blind.
It is an amazing fact that though CBS was regarded as a prestigious
and pioneering institution? it did not influence or inspire any other agency
to establish schools for the blind. One of the causes behind it was, it
seems, the preoccupation of Bengalees with political movements,. And the
other was the heavy dependence of the authorities of the CBS on the British
Raj. The identification of such works with Christian missionaries (and
- 24 -
hence the ruling power) might have antagonised the nationalistic social workers» Maybe some sort of hostility was there on the part of the existing school towards the new entrants in this field.
The second school was established in Kalimpong in 1940 by an English lady, Mary Scott» Later, the Mary Scott Home for the Blind was handed over to the Salvation Army. It was also established and run on traditional lines to provide some school education to the blinde
In 1941, Dr. S„Co Ray, a blind scholar, ushered in a new idea in Bengal when he and his American wife, Mrs« Evelyn Ray, established the All India Lighthouse for the Blind in Calcutta with the expressed intention of training adult blind persons of India irrespective of creed, caste or language. Dr. Ray went to the USA and the Lighthouse for the Blind of New York gave him the idea« It attracted the attention of leaders of Bengal. Its first governing body was composed of persons like Dr. Shyamaprosad Mukherjee, Dr0 B.C» Roy, Sri Naliniranjan Sarkar, Lord S.P. Sinha, Sri Tusher Kanti Ghosh, Sri Maniram Bagri, etc.
At the outset, it started as an adult (age 14-30) training centre with book-binding and wood crafts as the main trades, subsequently, caning ana weaving were added. It imparted some sort of primary education up to the standard III to its adult trainees who usually came without any educational background. The Institution deleted the prefix "All India" from its name in 1947 and registered as Lighthouse for the Blind in 1950.
Though the Institution was established for vocational training, it also made arrangements with some local general schools for academic education for its trainees who wanted and had merit for higher education. In 1946; Drс S,Сс Ray, with some eminent blind persons of Bengal, established the Blind Persons' Association, with Professor Nagendranath Sengupta, the famous blind philosopher and educationalist, as its President, with the aim of promoting general welfare, education and social status of the blind in the region. It was the first association of its kind in the country.
The transfer of power in 1947 was a turning point in the history of India. It brought in its wake thousands of uprooted people from the other parts of Bengal, and shattered all hopes of social, cultural and economic
- 25 -
rejuvenation. That is why we find that Independence did not bring any
upsurge in the educational field, not to speak of education for the blind.
It took a full decade after Independence for another institution for the
blind to be established.
In 1957, the Blind Boys' Academy (BBA) was established by the
Ramakrishna Mission at Narendrapur. The Mission did not take up services
for the blind as a pre-planned programme among its various activities. The
Blind Boys' Academy was a single person's endeavour and vision - Swami
Lokeswaranananda, and the Mission endorsed the idea and involved itself with
the work later. As in the other cases, here also we find personal efforts
instead of collective organizational planning.
It may be said that with the establishment of the BBA, the services
for the blind stepped into the modern age. A hurried glance over the his
tory of development of this institution would reveal that in spite of its
modest beginning, it gradually channelled its services to other areas like
teachers' training, light engineering, braille press, sub-contract workshop,
agriculture and rural vocations, rehabilitation service, community education,
etc.
The BBA" s uniqueness in this region is evident from its non-
traditional but scientific and total approach to the field of education and
training of blind children, for example:
(i) the ungraded and pre-primary classes along with training in
concept formation, mobility and orientation and daily living?
(ii) music and crafts are used for their therapeutic, curative and
corrective values?
(iii) after Class VIII, the brighter student can go to the general
school, or even to the college in the same campus run by the
Mission«, The BBA acts as the Resource Centre and provides
Resource Teachers;
(iv) there is a wide choice before the students who are not fit for
or willing to take academic education:
(i) the diploma course (affiliated to the Rabindra Bharati
University) in music?
- 26 -
(a) light engineering training and advance technical training;
(b) training in agriculture and rural vocations;
(v) after completing light engineering, the trainees are generally
given jobs in the sub-contract workshop as a stop-gap measure
before placing them in open employment;
(vi) in rural vocations, self-employment is encouraged. Home visits
and follow-up by the Resettlement Officer is a regular feature.
Though not very noticeable, the other three activities of the BBA
have far-reaching effects on the diversification of services for the blind
in this region;
(i) helping the establishment of other institutions by supplying
expertise, technical know-how and advice;
(ii) involving and stimulating scholars and research workers from
the field of medicine, psychology, sociology, physics and
engineering in the work for the blind;
(iii) education of the community through regular exhibitions,
seminars, literature, etc.
In 1965, another School for the Blind was founded by Mrs. B. Hodne -
a Swedish lady under the Swedish Mission in Coochbehar«, It imparts academic
education from Class I to Class VIII. Sometimes the students are sent to
the neighbouring sighted schools for higher education. Training in crafts,
weaving and physiotherapy are also available there.
There is another school in Coochbehar - the Government School for
the Blind, established by the Social Welfare Department of the Government of
Bengal, It is more a home for adult blind than a school» It has got some
training programmes, but they are still not well organised.
Next comes the Vivekananda Mission School for the Blind at
Chaitanyapur (near Haldia). This is the only school which has been estab
lished in a rural area, away from cities and towns„ It is coming up with
modern ideas - though its range of activities is small at present.
Two other newly-established schools - Louis Braille Memorial School
for the Blind, established (1978) by the Blind Persons' Association at
Uttarpara, Hooghly and Apex School for the Blind organized by the Apex Club
- 27 -
of Naihati (1977) - are examples of new efforts in providing education for
the blind in West Bengal. Both are struggling for survival and fighting
against various odds. Another school - Helen Keller Centenary School for
the Blind (1981), set up by the Blind Persons' Association at Krishnagar, is
in its embryonic stage.
From the above short history of development of blind education in
West Bengal, the trend that emerges can be summarized as follows:
(1) Due to political and financial reasons the establishment of
institutions for the blind in West Bengal would be more and more dependent
on governmental assistance and initiative«, By nature the organisations
here are averse to go to the rich people for huge donations on the one hand,
and on the other, the industrialists and the business tycoons also think it
a bad investment to get involved financially in the work for the blind.
This will be clear if we compare the condition of social works in Maharastra
and Gujarat with West Bengal. The Parsi community and the Gujarati business
community there are not only big donors - but also take active interests in
such works«, In the South, the churches are still active. Both the factors
which encourage social works are absent in West Bengal.
(2) There is a definite tendency on the part of the Institutions in
West Bengal to bring down the wide age differences among the blind students
in the class and to narrow the differences of age range between the sighted
and the blind of the same classe That leaves out a considerable number of
blind persons beyond the admissible age range out of education and training
programmes. For them, adult training centres would crop up in the near
future, or the existing schools have to open separate wings to cater to the
needs of such persons.
(3) The limited success in economic placement, particularly in open
industries, has decreased to some extent, the desire for higher academic
education among a section of blind students«, This awareness is already
influencing the decisions of school authorities in their future development
and planning. If a close relationship between training and economic place
ment is firmly established, then the modern trend of establishing academic
institutions would change and more training facilities would be available.
- 28 -
(4) At present a subtle change in some areas, and noticeably pro
nounced in some others, in the approach to the education as such is taking
place in West Bengal. So far, the curriculum (not to speak of the syllabus
only) was modelled after the sighted schools, ignoring the special needs of
the blind children. As a result, the so-called academic education remained
static on the audition memory level» With increasing demand on a blind
person5s own initiative, independence and ingenuity, the futility of verbal
training, without any compensatory and remedial measures, is becoming
evident to the planners of education for the blindo Particularly the lack
of adequate training in orientation, mobility, concept formation, daily
living and social skills, proper self-concept, etc. are being acutely felt
in rehabilitation efforts. So, in the future, both the contents and
method of instruction in blind schools are going to change to incorporate
the above-mentioned skills in their training programmes,
(5) With the increasing cost of establishing and maintaining an
Institution, and for the démocratisation of education for the blind, the
questions of establishing more special schools or mainstreaming the normal
blind children is becoming crucial. If we take into consideration the
necessity of reconstruction of curriculum in blind schools and the special
needs of the multiple handicapped blind children, then it might not be pos
sible to have a great number of schools or to add to the existing schools
various wings to cater to different types of needs«, Hence, integrated
education, and ultimately mainstreaming, seems to be inevitable.
2„3 Programmes, of rehabilitation for the blind
Rehabilitation in the case of a blind person, as mentioned in the
last chapter, would means
(i) to make up his developmental and social deficits due to sensory
deprivation;
(ii) to equip him with adequate competency for meaningful social
living; and
(iii) to make him economically independent.
The first two aspects of rehabilitation are taken to mean education and
training, and the third point is generally used to mean "economic placement".
As the ultimate aim of rehabilitation is independent living, and because to
- 29 -
earn one's own living in a productive way is the first condition of social independence in the modern world, so the narrower meaning of the term (economic placement) has become synonymous with the whole (rehabilitation).
In the above sense of the term, rehabilitation of the blind was never consciously aimed at by any institution in West Bengal before the sixties. With the establishment of the light engineering training for the blind (1964) in the Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur (under the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration of the USA Programme), a Rehabilitation Counsellor was appointed for the purpose of finding suitable jobs in the open and competitive employment market for the trained boyse A planned and concerted effort was made for economic placement of the blind in West Bengal for the first time«,
A brief discussion of the history of economic achievement by the blind will help us understand the importance of 1964 and its effects. Before then, some blind men and women attained economic success and social eminence by dint of their own merit; no agency or institution helped them, except providing them with academic education up to junior or high school level. In the twenties and thirties, barring a few cases like K 0C Dey, the famous singer, almost all of them - Late Professor Nagendranath Sengupta, Professor Manindra Kumar, Late Madhusudan Dev, writer and editor, Barrister Sadhan Gupta, Dr. S„С. Ray - were students of Calcutta Blind School, Behala, and they came of educated middle class families. They received higher education and achieved economic success through personal or family efforts. So far as we know the first blind persons to get employment in an organisation were Late Bhaben Banerjee as the music teacher and Sm„ Savitri Ray as an academic teacher in Calcutta Blind School. Sm. Ray was the first blind lady matriculate in West Bengal.
In this connection, the late Sadhan Ch. Dutta deserves mention. He was the only son of an illiterate poor lady who worked as a maid-servant in the CBS for many years«, He got school education in the Blind School, passed Matriculation from general school, and even without being helped or encouraged, he got college education and passed the B.A. simply by hard work and determination о Afterwards, he earned his livelihood by chair-caning and sometimes by private coaching«, He used to secure the jobs all by himself.
- 30 -
His was the first case of se If-employment«, Unfortunately, Sadhan Chandra died very young in 1935, due to consumption,,
Though Lighthouse for the Blind (1941) was an Adult Training Centre with certain traditional crafts, it had no rehabilitation programme. Its trainees who attained economic independence afterwards, got their jobs not because they were trained in a particular trade, but because they had higher education unrelated to their specific training. Sm. Prativa Bagchi (later Mrs. Arya - the late Headmistress of Virjanand Arya Kanya Andh Vidyalaya of Delhi) was the first blind lady graduate of Bengal»
Apart from begging or doing nothing at all, the economic activities of blind persons in Bengal followed the same patterns
(i) Some of the homebound rural blind used to help the family in agriculture or in family trades. Of course, the amount of work,' was always negligible and it depended on the family's attitude towards and relation with the blind person. A very few of the blind persons actually trained in the traditional crafts like basket-making, chair-caning or weaving could earn even a meagre living using their expertise,
(ii) The institutionalised blind persons who attained a certain level of education were generally given employment in the school itself as teachers. The salary was generally low in private organisations. This accounted for a considerable number of unqualified teachers in some schools and this practice gave rise to the idea that for blind persons with higher education there was no other honourable way but to become some sort of a teacherо. Still now, the establishment of blind schools is viewed not as an opportunity for education of blind children, but as a job opportunity for educated blind. Of course, this opportunity is so restricted that, in recent times, a change in the trend is becoming noticeable«,
(iii) Some blind persons from educated middle-class families could secure jobs through family connections and personal effort. There was nothing in the system to promote independent living of the blind.
- 31 -
(iv) Though music helped some persons, it was never seriously con
sidered as a way of rehabilitation.
The objectives of rehabilitational services for the blind in West
Bengal are as follows:
(i) to provide adequate vocational and professional training
facilities for the blind;
(ii) to find suitable jobs in the industries;
(iii) to lessen the dependence on sheltered and unproductive jobs;
(iv) to rectify the imbalance between regular jobs and sub-contract
work ;
(v) to help self-employment;
(vi) to encourage co-operative efforts.
From the above objectives, it would be clear that the first concern
of rehabilitation services is to make the blind as independent as possible
in their own environment and according to their own ability.
The first planned rehabilitational effort started in 1964 with the
establishment of the light engineering training programme for the blind (at
present the nomenclature has been changed to "Technical Training for the
Blind") at the Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur.
Adult blind with minimum communication skills are trained in trades
like the operation of lathes and other machines in a workshop. The course
is for nine months. After completion of the training, the trainees are
given certificates. The Rehabilitation Counsellor (at present the Rehabili
tation Officer) keeps contact with the industrial houses and other prospec
tive employers. Through constant persuasion and propaganda, the Counsellor
is sometimes successful in securing jobs.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Centre of the Government of India,
the West Bengal branch established in December 1975, also employs the same
methods. But in their case, because they are concerned with the training
of other handicapped persons also, the share of rehabilitation of the blind
by that centre is very low.
Another form of rehabilitation is sub-contract workshop. Such a
workshop was established at the Blind Boys* Academy in 1967. The jobs are
32 -
secured from big houses and the blind workers are given wages out of the
earnings« In the Blind Boys" Academy, the trained persons are given jobs
in this workshop before being placed in a regular job«, So, the sub-contract
workshop here is regarded as a stop-gap arrangement.
Such efforts existed before in one form or another in West Bengal.
In 1954-, the Lighthouse for the Blind tried to introduce a sub-contract
system in card box-making with two workers, but the plan failed due to lack
of response from the business houses. Financial considerations also
prevented the Institution from employing rehabilitation workers at that time*
In Kalimpong, the school could secure some sub-contracts from the local mar
ket in the form of basket-making, coir-matting, chair-caning, etc» But
all 'these attempts ' proved futile.
In the seventies, many sub-contract workshops of different types
were established in West Bengal.:
(i) Lighthouse for the Blind,
(ii) Workshop for the Blind, Dum Dum (1973),
(iii) Rehab-India (1968),
(iv) Welfare Society for the Blind.(1971),
(v) Dristiheen Shilpa Niketan Behala (it is not purely a sub-contract
workshop, it is a production centre for wax candles, incense
sticks, etc) ,
(vi) The Blind Persons8 Association (BPA) conducts two centres for
producing ground spices - one at Krishnagar and the other at
Srirampur. The working unit for sightless women at Sonarpur,
run by the BPA produces coir mats, garments, etc It is a
sheltered workshop„
There is a special employment exchange in West Bengal which is
responsible for finding jobs for all kinds of handicapped people» In the
field of rehabilitation of the blind, its contribution till now has been
very modesto
Though comparatively greater in number at present, the sub-contract
workshops cannot employ a larger number of blind persons because these
workshops are run on a small« scale. The workers are also paid negligible
- 33 -
amounts as remuneration. So naturally they are not popular among the blind;
they accept such occupations because there is no alternative but to accept
them in the present circumstances«, The success of such ventures is very
difficult to measure as the amount of earnings, security of job and ever-
changing nature of sub-contracts secured by different workshops differ
widely.
The financial assistance provided by the Banks is sometimes not
adequate (sometimes it is just a symbol of assistance by the Bankl), some
times the poor client consumes it before investment. As it is a long,
drawn-out process, the time-gap between investment and earning is large -
the time has not yet come to pronounce any judgment on the success or other
wise of this newly-introduced field of rehabilitation.
One could also mention the role of the cooperative societies in the
rehabilitation for the blind. The only industrial cooperative formed by
the blind in West Bengal is in the doldrums at present. It is difficult to
say whether the leadership or mistrust among the members or the plan itself
is responsible for such a condition. But when we consider the erratic
nature of sub-contract by private agency or cut-throat competition in self-
employment areas, the cooperatives by the blind themselves seem to be a
better means of rehabilitation.
2.4 Difficulties encountered
The history of organised and planned efforts of rehabilitation of
the blind in West Bengal is about two decades old. Previously, earning a
living by a blind man was considered to be dependent on fate, chance or
talent. The outlook on the part of the society has changed a'little, and
still undergoing the process of transformation.
The difficulties encountered can be classified as follows:
(i) Lack of job opportunities;
(ii) Ignorance and apathy;
(iii) Labour politics;
(iv) Lack of job-related training facilities ;
(v) Lack of coordination;
(vi) Lack of environmental facilities;
(vii) Clients* response and behaviour.
- 34 -
(1) Job opportunity At the time of independence, West Bengal, even after partition,
was one of the three leading industrialised states in India. After thirty five years, the State has come down to the seventh position. The political and social turmoil due to the influx of millions of uprooted people, flight of capital from the State, economic stagnation, labour unrest, and various other factors were responsible for making the economic atmosphere sick and moribund» As the labour force increased in size, the employment market contracted over the years„ This condition affected all the areas of employment - right from the industrial sector down to petty rural business.
The placement service in West Bengal started with an eye to the big industrial houses, because this was-an area where large-scale employment was possible о But there the job opportunities became so restricted that even a small number of blind job-seekers created tremendous competition problemsv Often one has to encounter such questions as: "When able-bodied, normal persons are not getting anything, how can a disabled man expect to get an employment?"
The sub-contract workshops were expected to be an answer to such questions. But here also, due to the reasons stated above, it became very difficult to secure sub-contracts from the business houses. The competition is also very keen.
In the areas of self-employment, as in the traditional crafts, farming, agencies business, vending, hawking, music coaching, etc., the market is full of sellers - a blind man cannot just depend on the buyers' sympathy and compassion«. Even a talented blind musician finds it difficult to get private tuitions on remunerative terms. The difficulties are even more acute in the cases of blind women.
(2) Ignorance and apathy Whatever little opportunities are there, even those cannot be
utilised sometimes, due to negative attitudes of the employers. Some of them do not know anything about the work ability of the blind and even when they see, they either do not believe it or ascribe it to an exceptional ability of the blind person. Ignorance can be corrected, but the wall of apathy and indifference is very hard to penetrate* It is a common
- 35 -
experience of many rehabilitation workers to be turned out of the office of the prospective employer because that "pillar of the society" has never heard such a ridiculous proposal as making the blind financially independent!
(3) Labour politics In West Bengal, the trade unions are very organized and forces
to reckon with. In many public and private sector industries, the unions control appointments to the vacant and newly-created posts. Generally the unions are helpful to rehabilitation of the blind and to the handicapped workers о But in some cases where there is more than one union, the unions in their competition to get their own men appointed object to the appointment of the handicapped persons from outside. The political parties, to which the unions are affiliated, in their zeal to control the labour movement sometimes get involved in such unfortunate controversy. The rehabilitation of the blind being an apolitical concept concerning a widely-scattered minority group in the community, the parties are not really interested in this work because of its low vote-catching value.
(4) Lack of job-related training facilities The present system of technical training that is followed in
West Bengal is to train the blind clients in certain trades using some power-driven machines, which give them limited experience in handling the jobs«, Though the curriculum is structured in a more pragmatic than scientific way, yet it gives the trainees some amount of manual dexterity and a sense of workshop discipline. But when a trainee is actually placed in a factory, it is generally found that the nature of the job has no relation with his training.
(5) Lack of coordination among the agencies As there is no Apex body to plan, organise and oversee the
rehabilitation of the blind in the State, different organisations frequently hamper each other's work. Sometimes, all the agencies knock at the same door for the same job for the same blind client. When he gets the job, all of them demand credit for his placement, thereby inflating the statistics in this State. It creates a clash of interest and unhealthy competition amongst the organisations.
- 36 -
Moreover, without an all-comprehensive plan, different areas of
economic activities cannot be explored, modified and improved» At present,
economic placement has almost become synonymous with employment in open
industries» Other avenues are neglected due to the absence of concerted
and coordinated efforts.
(6) Lack of environmental facilities
The problem of rehabilitation of the blind does not end with
the placement; in some cases, it begins. The blind persons are scattered
all over West Bengal, generally in the rural areas, and the industries and
the working places are in the urban areas. The blind worker has to come
over either to the neighbourhood of the working place or to commute daily
from his home by public transport, if the distance is not too great. As
both the housing and transport problems are very acute in West Bengal, the
blind workers find it difficult to continue in the job for a long time.
In the sub-contract or sheltered workshops, due to the large con
centration of blind persons in the same place, they can be expected to live
together in a Mess or a Working Men9s Hostel nearby if the rent is reasonable.
But in the cases of industries, even hostels would not solve the problems,
as the factories are located at different places and at a great distancee
The clients have to depend on public transport which is highly uncertain
and expensive»
The environmental conditions in the working place are also not
suitable for the blind» Sanitation, canteens and recreation rooms are not
made to suit the special needs of the blind workers.
(7) The clients' response and behaviour
This should be regarded not as the last, but as the first
difficulty encountered by the rehabilitation workers. The blind persons
who require immediate placement generally come from the poorest of poor
families* By their impatience, they sometimes jeopardise the rehabilitation
works. They move from one agency to another, change training programmes
before finishing one, or even take recourse to abuse and vilification of
the counsellor, which antagonises the agency working for them« . Sometimes,
the worker leaves the job for a better one without informing his agency.
Thus the chance of putting another blind man in his previous job is lost.
- 37 -
In many cases, the inadequacy of social responses on the part of the blind
client is responsible for his poor adjustment with his environment. Such
problems are not insurmountable, with proper training and counselling, the
behavioural defects can be rectified.
This is, then, the state of education and employment of the blind
in West Bengal. The following chapters deal in some detail with a few of
the problems based on the surveys of individual blind persons and enterprises.
- 38 -
Chapter 3
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS
3.1 Objectives
The objective of this Chapter is to discuss the background infor
mation on the respondents because this may lead us to form a scientific
view in connection with their education and employment. Findings of the
main study may have some direct or indirect link with all these or some of
these factors, hence these need to be highlighted,
3.2 Regional distribution
Among the respondents of the study, 52% were from rural areas and
the. rest, 48%, were from the urban areas. Though the number of blind
persons in rural areas is many times more than the number of urban blind,
difference in percentage among the rural and urban respondents is very insig
nificant principally because of the following reasons:
(i) the educational centres are situated in and around the towns
and cities;
(ii) the level of education and general awareness of the people of
the rural areas is comparatively less?
iiii) and because of the above-mentioned reasons, the rural blind
failed to fully exploit their share of the existing facilities.
3.3 Age, sex? caste and marital status
So far as the age of the respondents is concerned, a solid majority
of them (73„8%) belonged to the age group 20 to 34 years, whereas 14„2%
belonged to the age group 35 to 44 years» Very few of them were above 44
years of age«, Teenagers formed nearly 9% of the group of people surveyed,,
It indicates that education and training facilities have been expanded
during the recent years„ In the earlier period there were less educational
institutions, and due to lack of communication and awareness, the number of
students enrolled was very low. Another reason for the small number of
respondents in higher ages may be that the institutions do not maintain old
records properly»
Regarding sex of the respondents, a very high majority (9106%) of
them were male and only a few (8e4%) were female. Again, among the rural
respondents, 94% were male and among the urban it was 89%. In the case
of females, 6% were rural and 11% were urban.
- 39 -
Table 3.1. Residence Region, Sex, Caste and Marital Status of the Respondents
(a) Residence Region
Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Others
Total
No. (%)
Rural Urban
Total
(c) Caste
116 (52.0) 107 (48.0)
223(100.0)
No. (%)
30 (13.5) 5 (2.3)
187 (84.2)
222(100.0)
(b) Sex
Male Female
Total
(d) Marital Status
Single Married
Total
No. (%)
206 (91.6) 19 (8.4)
225(100.0)
No. (%)
149 (66.2) 76 (33.8)
225(100.0)
Table 3.2. Age of the Respondents
Age No. (%)
15 - 19
20 - 24
25 - 29
30 - 34
35 - 39
40 - 44
21 (9.3)
53 (23.6)
67 (29.8)
46 (20.4)
19 (8.4)
13 (5e8)
45 and above 6 (2.7)
Total 225(100.0)
The obvious issue that will cone from this picture is that women
in general could avail themselves of the facility much less compared to the
blind male. Among the rural women, percentages are even less. All
these indicate one thing very clearly, that sincere efforts have not been
made to cater for education and training for the blind female. This is,
of course, nothing new in the context of the social system of West Bengal.
Here, a patriarchal social system rules and the women get minimum
facilities in all spheres of life. Knowingly or unknowingly they are
mostly ignored by the family members and the society as a whole. Possibly
the same thing has happened in the case of blind women, etc.
- 40 -
While distributing the participants on the basis of caste, one will
find that the upper caste people enjoyed the facilities most. Whereas
84.2% of the respondents were from upper caste families, only 15.8% came
from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe families„
As regards the marital status of the respondents, the number of
single (unmarried) respondents is just double the number of married respon
dents „ It may be due to the fact that:
(i) a social stigma is attached to blindness, that the children
of the blind will also be blind;
(ii) a sizeable number of them are not earning anything on their
own and they are dependent on others;
(iii) average normal women generally do not want to marry the blind
(we shall come back to this later);
(iv) neither can they themselves arrange their marriage, nor the
family members take the initiative in this direction.
Among the married respondents, 26e7% have blind spouses.
3.4 Parents8 education and income
While studying the educational background of the parents it has
been remarked that 24.3% of the parents had no education. If we divide them
by father and mother, it will be found that 58.4% of mothers and 25„7% of
fathers were without education„ This picture of the parents' education is
not abnormal because the literacy rate of the state is 50.59% in the case
of males, 30„33% in the case of females, and 40o88% in general.
Table 303e Education of parents
Mother No Up to Up to Up to Up to Total(%) Father educ. IV VIII X XII G PG 55 (25.7)
No education 52 2 ~ 1 - ~ - 5 5 (25.7) up to IV 40 _ 7 - - - - 47 (22.0) up to VIII 16 10 2 - - - - 28 (13.1) up to X 10 . 17 9 2 1 - 3 42 (19.6) up to XII 4 5 5 3 - - 17 (7.9)
G 1 5 6 7 1 1 - 21 (9.8) PG 2 2 - - - - - 4 (1.9)
Total 125 48 22 13 2 1 3 214(100.0) (%) (58.4) (2204) (10.3) (6.1) (0.9) (0.5) (1.4)
(G: Graduate, PG: Post-graduate)
- 41-
From table 3.3 we see that the percentage of parents having higher education
is very poors 35„1% of the fathers had low level (maximum class VIII), 27.5%
had medium level (IX to XII) and 11„7% had high level (graduate or post
graduate) education. The corresponding figures for mothers are 32.7, 7.0
and ie9 respectively.
So far as family income is concerned, the majority (51.4%) of the
families had a monthly income of Rs„ 500 or more. A sizeable portion of
families were economically very backward. Nearly one in every three
families earned less than Rs. 350 a month. The median income of the
families came to Rs. 514. Considering the price index number of the period,
the income of the families could not be taken as satisfactory.
Table 3.4. Family income (monthly)
Income (in Rs.) No. of families (%)
0 - 9 9 13 (5„8)
100 - 199 7 (3.1)
200 - 349 55 (24.6)
350 - 499 34 (15.2)
500 - 749 51 (22.8)
750 - 999 26 (11.6)
1 000 and above 38 (17.0)
Total 224 (100.0)
3.5 Nature, extent and cause of blindness and the treatment followed
As regards the nature of blindness, it is observed that nearly 1
out of 4 is congenital (born blind) and the rest adventitious (i.e. developed
blindness after birth).
The extent of blindness of the respondents is also different.
Whereas 50.5% of them are totally blind, 31.5% are in the "perception of
light" grade, and the rest, 18%, are blind up to the extent of "residual
vision".
While discussing the causes responsible for blindness, we find
that a high majority of them (66.7%) became blind owing to some general
diseases like dysentry, typhoid, pox, etc. The other reasons were occular
disease (14.8%), accident (12.2%) and degeneration (3.2%). The rest (3.2%)
- 42 -
Table 3.5. Nature, extent and cause of blindness and nature of treatment
Extent of blidness No. (%)
Residual vision 40 (18.0) Perception of light 70 (31.5) Total blindness 112 (50.5)
Total 222 (110.0)
(c) Cause of blindness No. (%) (d) Nature of treatment No. (%)
Occular disease General disease Degeneration Accident Others
Total
of the cases have been grouped under the heading "others". We observe that
in 2 out of every three cases the general diseases caused blindness. It
cannot be imagined by many people that diseases like dysentry, typhoid, etc.
may cause such a thing. From statistical tests it has been found that
family income or residence region (rural or urban) has no bearing on the
cause of blindness but education of the parents does effect it (see table A
in appendix)„
Excepting a few respondents (only 3.2%), all had taken some treat
ment. A majority of them (72,1%) had taken the help of modern medicines,
0.9% had used "witchcraft", and 23.7% had used both the modern medicine and
witchcraft«, So, whatever might be the social, economic and educational
status of the families, they tried to obtain treatment. Maybe they tried
at too late a stage and hence no poisitive results could be achieved.
3.6 Age when blinded
41% of the adventitious blind lost their vision within 5 years of
age* Further to note is that 92 „2% of this group became blind within 20
years of age, and the rest, 7.8%, after the age of 20. It reflects clearly
that whatever may be the reason, blindness is caused principally during
childhood and youthhood. This gives us reason to be cautious
regarding the possibility of blindness during early age, and therefore
suggests that to tackle this problem steps should be taken from the pre
natal stage itself.
(a) Nature of Blindness No. (%) (b)
Congenital 55 (24.4) Adventitious 170 (75.6)
Total 225 (100.0)
28 (14.8) Alio., Homo., Ind. 158 (72.1) 126 (66.7) Witchcraft 2 (0.9)
6 (3.2) Both 52 (2.37) 23 (12.2) None 7 (3.2) 6 (3.2) _
" Total 219 (100.0) 189 (100.0) •
- 43 -
Adventit.
75.6X
Congenit
Diagram 2. Nature, extent and cause of blindness—sum pie chart of percent grouped by nature.
Per. Lght,
Residual
Tot. blind
Diagram 3. Nature, extent and cause of blindness—sum pie chart of per cent grouped by extent.
- 44 -
Gen.Die.
Degener.
Accidnt.
Others
Oc.Dis,
Diagram 4. Nature, extent and cause of blindness—sum pie chart of per cent grouped by cause.
Freqncy
90
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Blindage
Diagram 5. Frequency polygon of age when blinded.
- 45
Table 3.6 Age when blinded
Age No. (%)
1 - 5
6 - 1 0
11 - 15
16 - 20
21 - 25
26 - 30
31 - 35
68
42
28
16
6
2
5
(40.7)
(25.1)
(16.7)
(9.6)
(3.6)
(1.2)
(3.0)
Total 167 (100.0)
- 46 -Chapter 4
EDUCATION FOR THE BLIND
4„i Reasons for pursuit of education
Behind every act there is some motivation. The blind
respondents of this study also had some motivation for joining the course.
The motivation may be created by the family members, friends or relatives.
It may even be created by the social environment in which they live.
The present study reveals the fact that a very high number of res
pondents (83%) had joined the courses with the expectation that it would
give them a better employment opportunity. It is the most natural reason
in the case of sighted persons also. Everybody wants a job. In the hard,
competitive employment market one has no place unless one has a good academic
training and/or vocational education» Even for successful seIf-employment
one needs education0 Thus it is quite justifiable that a big majority of
the respondents came for education with the hope that this could help them
in securing a jobe But it must be remembered that some years back the
blind people could not think that they could get jobs „like sighted persons,,
So it may perhaps be that the respondents heard about or came across such
blind people who had been employed because of their education, and being
inspired for such a job that could make them economically independent, they
came to pursue education.
The second in importance in our list of selected reasons is "study
for its own sake", One out of every two respondents had this in mind also
while joining the courses (one thing to be noted here is that multiple res
ponses were permitted and some of the respondents had shown more than one
reason for pursuit of their education)0 This group of respondents rightly
deserve a word of praise if we can accept their responses to be genuine.
When illiteracy is so widespread, educational institutions for visually
handicapped persons are so few, and again, when, for many, institutions are
at far-off places, it is something to note that so many blind persons desired
study for its own sake.
A small section of the respondents (4.0%) have stated that the
reason for pursuit of their education is to please their parents,, They
never thought of having education for themselves but as parents wanted it
- 47 -
Table 4.1. Reasons for pursuing education
Reasons No«, (%)
desired study for its own sake 99 (49.5)
better employment opportunity 166 (83.0)
to please parents 8 (4.0)
others 7 (3.5)
Note; (1) One could have more than one reason. (2) Total no. of respondents; 200.
they enrolled themselves in the educational institutions«, In the social
setting of West Bengal this is a very common practice even among the non-
handicapped. This is found in the-case of education, marriage, and many
other events of life. Most of the young men and women marry not at their
will and choice but as per the wish of the parents. Some of the blind
respondents had just maintained that tradition«, Besides these three
reasons, a small group of respondents (3.5%) have opined that they have
taken training for "other" reasons«, This "other" may be:
(i) to improve social status, or
(ii) to pass the time.
The above narrated facts will tell us that there is still scope for
convincing the blind that they also can be self-sufficient human beings even
if they have lost their vision. To bring them confidence is a major task
before the concerned institutions and the Government, which should be under
taken with real earnestness.
4.2 Sources of information on education
Regarding the source of information of education, it has been found
•that nearly 3 out of every 5 of the respondents received the information
through their parents, relatives or friends. Staff of educational ins
titutions came as the second important source of information. Nearly 27%
of the respondents benefited by them. It is astonishing to see the sad
role played by Government communication media in this respect. There are
few institutions for the blind in the state, established either by the
Government or private organisations^ and a good amount of money is spent
every year in running these institutions« It is a prime duty of any
- 48 -
responsible government to see that the existing facilities may be insufficient and are fully utilised by the blinde The government should make adequate arrangements to ensure that blind persons scattered all over the state know about the facilities available for their education« It is a pity to note til at only 12 о 7% of the respondents received the information from general information sources«, Doctors played a minor role,- they supplied information to 7с5% of the respondents«
Table 4C2„ Sources of information for education
(a) Source No. (%)
Friends, parents, relatives 133 (62e4) Doctors _. 16 (7.5) Staff of educational institutions 57 (26.8) Other students 1 (0.5) General information sources 27 (12.7)
Note; (1) A person could have more than one source. (2) Total no« of respondents: 2130
(b) Adequacy of the information No«, (%)
Adequate 162 (80.2) Inadequate 40 (19.8)
Total 202(100„0)
So far as the adequacy of the information is concerned, nearly one-fifth of the respondents thought that it was inadequate and for the rest it was sufficient«
4a 3 Selection of courses in education In more than 45% of the cases respondents had undertaken courses
according to their own choice0 Obviously, they chose those courses which they thought would suit them and would be useful for them afterwards. In aii exactly equal number of cases ? the institutions took the decision in this matter» A look at table 4*3 will show that an insignificant role was played by guardians and others„ Our experience is that once a boy or girl is admitted to an institution, his/her guardians feel greatly relieved and seldom take care to know what the boy or girl does afterwards. In most cases the institution takes or is forced to take the role of the guardians.
- 49 -
Table 4„3. Selection of course
Opinion about the course Course ——
decided by Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Self 257 3
Guardian 40 0
Institution 257 9
Others 7 1
Total 561 13
Note: A student could have taken more than one course.
When asked if they were satisfied with the course, the response
was in the affirmative in 97 e 7% of the cases. It is indeed gratifying to
note that the institutions could satisfy their trainees to such a big extent.
What happened to the trainees afterwards is a difficult thing. That 40%
of them remained unemployed after taking one or more courses which they
thought to be satisfactory, is likely to indicate that courses were not
very meaningful for the employment market, or that for the blind academic
training and/or vocational training are not the only pre-requisites for
being employed (we shall come to this later)„
As regards the type of courses taken, we find that academic education
tops the list with nearly three-fourths of the candidates having a
varied extent from acquaintance with the 3 Rs to post-graduate level.
Next come crafts, weaving, knitting, etc», which were considered together
under the heading "others". 35„6% of the respondents had training in one
or more branches in this category„ It is closely followed by technical
education, opted by 32.9%, and music 29.3%. Agriculture and animal husbandry,
which came rather late in the list of courses offered by the institutions,
was chosen by about 1 out of 5 respondents. It is to be noted that one
could take more than one type of course. However, the information gathered
in this section might be an eye-opener for many. There are people, not
few in number, who think that, besides academic education, blind are eligible
for training in music, basket-making, weaving and the like. They cannot
imagine that blind persons are capable of taking agriculture and animal hus
bandry as their subjects of study, or technical education that requires wor
king with lathe machines, drilling machines, etc»
- 50 -
Table 4o4c Type of course taken by respondents
Type of course No. of cases (%)
Academic 165 (74.3)
Music 65 (29.3)
Technical 73 (32e9)
Agriculture and animal husbandry 43 (19.4)
Others 79 (35.6)
Note; (1) A student could take more than one type of course. (2) "Others" include crafts, weaving, knitting and
sewing, book binding, envelope-making, etc. (3) Total no. of respondents: 222„
4.4 Duration of studies ~" -
By duration of studies of a respendent we mean the sum of years
spent by him/her while taking the different courses of study. Table 5.4
shows that the duration varied from 1 year to 30 years. It is easily under
stood that some of the respondents could not make much progress and had to
leave after a short period of time, but it is difficult to find a meaning
for a duration as long as 30 years. In our sample we find that as many as
7«8% of the respondents continued studies for over 20 years. It is very
likely that such respondents went on taking one course after another since
they did not find it easy to get a regular job or self-employment opportunity
after completing one or two courses. In fact, in our survey we have come
across such respondents who had training in music, technical education,
agriculture and crafts, besides academic training at the lower level«
Table 4.5. Duration of respondents' education in years
Duration (years) No. of cases (%)
42 (19.3)
59 (27.1)
62 (28.4)
38 (17.4)
13 (6.0)
4 (1.8)
1 - 5
6-10
11 - 15
16 - 20
21 - 25
26 - 30
Total 218 (100.0)
- 51 -
Freqncy y
90
80
70
60
50
40|
30
20
10
10 15 20
Duration
25 30 35
Diagram 6„ Frequency polygon of duration of respondents education in years.
- 52 -
We tried to examine the effect of residence region, sex, duration of parents' education and family income on length of respondent's education* It was observed that while region of home (rural/urban) and parents' education had statistically significant influence on the length of respondents education, sex and family income did not have any significant influence a
The model was specified as follows:
y = a + b x + b9X2 + NX3 + b/ix4 + E
where y = duration of respondent's education in years, x = parents' education (measured on the sum of the length of
studies of father and mother in years) x (residence region) =- о when rural
= 1 when urban x (sex) = о when female
= 1 when male x = family income a is a constant, b is partial regression coefficient, and E is the error terme
Statistical significance of the coefficients would mean statistically significant, relationships of the attached variable with the dependent variable. A positive sign of the regression coefficient would mean the relation is positive and a negative sign would indicate an inverse relationship.
The regression equation was Y = 9.581 + 0.125X + l„999x - le864x + 0.246x
J_ £ О тс
(0.058) (0o897) (1.555) (0o287)
(The figures in parenthesis give the standard errors of the coefficients.)
R2 = 0.097, F = 5=46, defe 4,204 Another regression equation was fitted with only significant explanatory variables» The result is given in the following equations
Y = 8.585 + 0e155x + 2.238x (0.053) (0c868)
R" = 0*086, F = 9.71, d.f. 2,206
- 53 -
Chapter 5
TRANSITION FROM EDUCATION TO WORK
5.1 Objectives
In this chapter, we will discuss a very crucial period in the stages
of rehabilitation of the blind in West Bengal. The transition from
education to regular placement is not smooth and automatic« The hurdles
are so difficult to overcome that sometimes the blind job-seekers may have
to wait for nine or more years after finishing education. In our survey,
we tried to find out the factors responsible for such inordinate delays,
and to assess the effect of waiting on the client and his rehabilitation.
We think that a little gap - the length of time depending on the
nature of training and the personal qualities of the trainee - is necessary
because it is difficult for a blind man to cope with the competitive and
open employment situation without any prior preparation for it. He must
have a transition period between his protected and controlled training
situation and the unprotected world,
5o2 Pre-employment programmes and the role of stop-gap jobs
The time-gap between education and regular placement may be divided
into two types. The first is necessary for pre-employment training and
the second is compulsory due to the very tight employment situation in the
State and the lack of organised rehabilitation efforts0 The pre-employment
programmes consist of:
(i) Counselling and guidance: The client is apprised of the
opportunities open to him and advised in personal matters like
grooming, mobility facilities, domestic relations, etc.;
(ii) Orientation in actual job situation: The trainees are taken to
different factories where they get some concrete ideas about
the real working conditions in the factories. It is a very
important programme no doubt0 But it is gradually becoming
very difficult to continue the programme since the managers of
the factories complain that this type of visit disrupts their
work schedule as the workers throng to see the visiting blind
trainees;
- 54 -
(iii) Extension lectures; These include talks by employers, labour officers, union leaders, etc«, The established rehabilitees also come and share their experience with the trainees;
(iv) In-plant training/apprenticeship: The idea was that the factories would take blind trainees as apprentices and would ultimately absorb them. Practically nothing could be done so far in this direction. In 1980, there was a proposal to start a Government-funded in-plant training programme for the trained blind personnel all over the country, but it has not materialised to date«
Table 5.1. Classification of respondents by pre-employment programmes attended
Programme
1 2 3 4 1 & 2 1 & 4 1 & 5 2 & 4 1, 2 & 3 1, 2, 3 & 4
No programme
Total No response
ьу Op
them
ien-- employed
13 1 2 1
18 1 0 1 3 , 3
43 35
78 12
Self-employed
3 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 3 0 .
11 15
26 18
Unemployed
4 2 1 0 6 0 0 0 2 4
19 15
34 57
Notes Counselling & Guidance - 1, Orientation in actual job situation - 2, Extension Lectures - 3, In-plant training/ Apprenticeship - 4, Other Facilities - 5„
The pre-employment programmes attended by the respondents of this survey are shown in table 5.1. There are so many cases of non-response, especially among the unemployed, that it is difficult to know the real situation. If we consider only the persons who responded to this query, we find that nearly 56% from the unemployed group attended one or more programmes; the corresponding figures for open-employed and self-employed are 55% and 42%e It indicates a negative effect of pre-employment programmes
- 55 -
which is difficult for one to accept» It is very likely that most of the
non-responses came from persons who did not attend any programme. If we
assume that none of them joined any programme, the percentages for open-
employed,, self-employed and unemployed groups become 48, 25 and 21 respec
tively. Whichever of the two sets of figures we do accept, it is clear
that proper emphasis had not been put on pre-employment programmes regarding
this item. But that does not mean that they remain idle for a long time.
Generally most of the trained persons are given jobs in the sub-contract
workshops attached to different institutions. They come to the workshop
every day from their own places to earn wages on the piece-rate basis. The
working conditions are rigorous with rigid rules of attendance, leave, etc.
Out of 225 respondents, 76 persons (33„8%) stated that they had
worked in sub-contract workshops before regular placement«, Out of these
76 persons, 41 (54%) think that the jobs they did in those workshops have
positive relations with their training. All of them agree that the experien
ces they gathered in those workshops helped them not only in money matters,
but also in retaining the working habits and skills.
Table 5.2. Stop-gap job and its relation with training
(a) If respondent had stop-gap job No. of cases (%)
No Yes
Total
If stop-gap job related to training
No Yes
Total
149 (66.2) 76 (33.8)
225 (100.0)
No. of cases (%)
35 (46.1) 41 (53.9)
76 (100.0)
These sub-contract jobs are stop-gap arrangements as the candidates
for regular placement are mostly chosen from among the trained workers
working there. In their places, newly-trained blind persons are absorbed*
Unfortunately, due to dearth of sub-contract workshops in the State,
all the blind persons do not get work after their education. Most of them
- 56 -
do odd jobs completely unrelated to their education and training, like
selling lottery tickets and incense sticks or giving private coaching.
Those who cannot make even such arrangements, simply sit idle and wait for
their call from the Rehabilitation Officer of their institution or from the
Special Employment Exchange.
5.3 Method of recruitment and the role of the Special Employment Exchange
We wanted to ascertain the degree of importance of various methods
of recruitment in the State and to see what role is played by the Special
Employment Exchange in economic placement of the blind«, The regular-employed
persons were asked to say what was the mode of getting their job* According
to their responses, the Special Employment Exchange was credited for employ
ment of 3o9% of -che respondents. Both newspaper advertisements and letters
of recommendation were considered of value by only 3.3%, but 83,3% of the
respondents regarded persuasion (i.e. personal contact) by rehabilitation
workers, family, friends, etc. to be the factor behind getting their job.
The data obtained is self-explanatory. It proves that personal
compassion, sympathy and charity being the main props of rehabilitation, an
impersonal and automatic system of transition from education to work has not
yet developed. The truth of this is also revealed by the insignificant
part played by the Special Employment Exchange established by the Government
of India in 1965»
Table 5e3a Mode of getting a job
Jobs obtained through No. of cases (%)
Employment Exchange
Newspaper advertisement
Letter of recommendation
Persuasion
Others
Total
8
3
3
75
1
90
(8.9)
(3.3)
(3.3)
(83.3)
(1,1)
(100.0)
Out of 219 respondents, 130 (59«,4%) were registered with the
Exchange«, The length of registration varied from one year to over nine
years. During the entire period under consideration, only 43 calls were
- 57 -
Table 5,4, Registration with Employment Exchange and No. of calls
(a) If registered No. of cases (%)
No Yes
89 (40.6) 130 (59.4)
Total 219 (100.0)
(b) No. of calls received No., of cases (%)
94 26 7 1
(73.4) (20.3) (5.5) (0.8)
Total 128 (100.0)
sent by the Exchange to the registered persons„ How many of them actually got jobs due to such calls is a different matter. The general practice is that the rehabilitation workers find the opening. If it is the public sector which requires the candidates to come through the Employment Exchange, the Exchange is then requested to send a call to the registered persons and, armed with that letter, the rehabilitation worker finalises the deale
It has been seen that the percentages of urban blind getting registered v-rith the Exchange is higher than the rural blind (see table A2 in the Appendix). The rural blind are either not interested in the Exchange or they try to avoid the troubles associated with registration. The District Regional Employment Exchanges generally do not take any interest in handicapped persons and do not take the trouble of forwarding names of the blind to the Special Employment Exchange in Calcutta. Moreover, the rural blind find it very difficult to come to the district towns for renewal, reminder, etc
Made
Empl. Exc.
Newsppr.
Others
Recominnd.
=3
3
^3
1 10
i 20
i 30
1 1 1 40 50 60 Per cent.
70 го
Per cent
6.90
3.30
1.10
83. 30
3. 30
Diagram 7. M o d e of getting job.
5«4 Selection of criteria What factor or factors are responsible for blind persons getting
regular jobs? The answers we got from -che replies of the respondents to the question of selection criteria ares persuasion (personal contact) was considered to be very important by 52.1% of the respondents, and important by 43»6%f while only 4.3% thought it to be unimportant in getting jobs.
- 58 -
When we go through the weight given to the items in the list of
selection criteria, we find some curious facts revealed by the answers.
Criteria like interview, past experiences and letter of recommendation were
considered to be very important or important by 86%, 91.8% and 89.7% of the
respondents respectively, but 83=3% of them got their jobs through persuasion.
This seems to indicate that almost all the candidates had to appear before
some sort of selection board with all the papers they had with them though
matters were settled beforehand»
Table 5e5. Factors in getting a job for a blind person
Factors Very important Important Unimportant Total (%)
Educational qualifications 54 (43 ..9) 65 (52.8) 4 (3.3) 123 (100)
Interview 22 (20.6) 70 (65.4) 15 (14.0) 107 (100)
Past experience 42 (34.1) 71 (57.7) 10 (8.1) 123 (100)
Letters of recommendation 37 (31.6) 68 (58.1) 12 (10.3) 117 (100)
Persuasion 61 (52.1) 51 (43.6) 5 (4.3) 117 (100)
Note: Respondents were asked to give ratings for each factor separately.
According to the Heads of the institutions, particularly the
Rehabilitation Officers, the general procedure is: the Rehabilitation
Officer approaches the Personnel Officer or the Manager of a private or
public sector industry, who specifies the number of blind workers they may
employ; the Rehabilitation Officer selects the candidates according to the
nature of the jobs from among his waiting list and those names are sent to
the Managers. Since the announcement of 3% job reservation for the handi
capped (1% for the blind) by the Government of India in 1978, it became
a common practice with -the public sector or autonomous bodies to set up a
selection board before appointing the handicapped workers. The State Govern
ment announced 2% job reservation for all categories of handicapped. Such
a procedure is not followed in other sectors»
In small-scale industries where personal relation is the main
factor, the letter of recommendation plays a vital role, but such appointments
are very limited in number and scope. By past experience the respondents,
it seems, meant the period spent in the sub-contract workshop or whatever
jobs they were provided with by the institutions before sending them to
- 59 -
regular employment. In fact, the Rehabilitation Officer, among other
things, generally takes that period into consideration before recommending
the names for regular employment,
5.4 Waiting period to get a job
The uncertainty about earning a living after finishing education is
not peculiar to the blind adults in West Bengal. Unemployment and under
employment have become almost a way of life here. In this situation, it
seems natural for a blind man to wait indefinitely for his turn to get a job»
But it will be oversimplification of a complex situation if we think that
the uncertain period that a blind man has to suffer is simply a reflection
of the general unemployment picture of the country.
To understand the complex problem of employment and unemployment of
the blind we have to remember the following factors, apart from economic
stagnations
(i) The negative social attitude towards blindness;
(ii) The blind never openly compete with the sighted for employment;
(iii) There is an organised effort, though inadequate at present, to
rehabilitate the blind by some agencies. There is no such
effort in the case of sighted people;
(iv) The blind persons who come for regular employment have more
education and training than the sighted multitude for unskilled
and semi-skilled jobs;
(v) The employed portion of the blind population of the State is
only the tip of an iceberg - they constitute a small part of
the educated and trained blind and an insignificant percentage
of the total blind population.
Now let us join the fragmented factors stated above to get the real
picture of the problem« The large number of illiterate and dependent blind
persons in the society obliterates the small number of trained personsa
The unproductive role of the majority colours the views of the employers.
It takes a lot of time to convince the employers about the abilities of the
educated blind«, The number of openings that the Rehabilitation Officer
finds in this way generally falls far short of the number of intending can
didates» So he chooses among those who come first. Sometimes, he has to
- 60 -
make a choice from among multiple factors like intensity of family needs,
special skill of the candidate and urgency of the particular job«, In what
ever way the choice is made, the rest have to wait for their turn. Due to
these uncertainties, a blindman does not have any choice regarding the nature
of the job - whatever comes to him, he has to accept it as a "manna from
Heaven"„
Table 5e60 Length of waiting period (for open-employed)
Waiting period (years) No, of cases (%)
0 - 2 44 (56,4)
3 - 5 20 (25e6)
6 and above _. 14 (17„9)
Total 78 (100.0).
The time spent in pre-employment programme should not be taken as
a waiting period, because it is a necessary adjunct of the training programme.
But the time afterwards is long and it is uncertain that the trainee won't relapse
into ignorance for want of practice of what he has learnt. If the person
is lucky, he may get some sort of stop-gap job which may or may not have any
relación to his traininge We find that the waiting period has no relation
with the duration of education and training programmes (see table A3). It
gives rise to the notion that education and training is just to keep the
blind in good humour, it has no real bearing on the regular employment.
The idea is, whatever be the content of training, a blind man may ultimately
get a job - not by dint of his merit, but because he is blind.
In the field of rural vocation, the waiting period for self-employ
ment is not so gruelling о During the period under consideration, 43 trainees were trained and 33 of them were gainfully occupied in the business of their own - the period of transition from training to work was short. This spectacular result was possible because:
(i) the agricultural training programme was new and experimental -there was virtually no competition in this area of resettlement;
(ii) the number of clients so far was small and manageable; (iii) one of the criteria of admission to the programme is the posses
sion of a minimum amount of land which the trainee can use after training;
- 61 -
(iv) the banks came forward with loans on easy terms because of the
security and prestige of the organising agency.
All these factors are responsible for the success of the rural self-
employment programme«, Right now it is difficult to say what would happen
if and when the numbers of training centres and the clients increase in the
futureb Due to the economic condition and limited training facilities,
there exists a positive relation between the number of blind job-seekers and
the period of waiting. If the number increases, the period of waiting also
increases. The contents and methods of training and education seem to have
no impact on waiting for regular employment„
5e5 Usefulness of education in getting a job
It does not require any investigation or research work to say that
some sort of prior education and training makes it easier for anybody to get
a gainful occupation. But in the case of a blind man, the negative social
attitudes in the forra of sympathy, compassion and charity generally make
this axiom redundant in getting a job« Nothing counts where charity reigns
suprême« The notion of infirmity and helplessness is so firmly attached
to blindness that whenever a blind man does anything it evokes amazement,
admiration and praise in the society. In whatever way we look at a blind
man, as a miracle or as a parasite, we tend to take an indulgent view of his
ability and qualification as a worker«, So, in most cases his education is
overlooked? he is given a job not because he is duly qualified, but because
he is blind«,
In this situation the education of the blind seems to be unnecessary
and superfluous«, But at present we cannot say soB That the situation is
changing gradually can be ascertained from the two trends which this survey
shows %
(i) Among the employed blind persons, the number of illiterates is
nil. In the decade 1970-80 under consideration, only educated
and trained persons were employed in the open industries. By
education, we means
(a) the range from acquaintance with the 3 Rs to the post-graduate
degree,
(b) high school/college education with vocational training, and
- 62 -
(с) academic education up to junior high standard with vocational training. Most of the blind workers belong to the last two categories. If we compare the ratios of educated sighted and blind workers with the total working force in their respective categories, we will find that the percentage of educated blind is higher than that of the sighted workers.
In the seIf-employment sector like vending stalls, agricultural farming, poultry, etc«,, the banks advance loans on easy terms to those blind clients who are trained and have a minimum of general academic education.
The causes behind high percentage of educated blind persons1
employment may be summarised as follows :
(a) The blind workers come from those institutions which are mainly concerned with education and training. The Rehabilitation Officers recommend only those persons who have received education. In this respect, the illiterate blind man who is not attached to any organisation does not get any opportunity at all to approach the employment market.
(b) It may be said that a blind man who is generally considered to be incapable of doing anything needs additional qualifications to attract the attention of others. Education, to some extent, acts as an insurance against his supposed helplessness. An educated blind man may weigh more than an illiterate sighted worker in the eyes of the employers.
(c) The recent trend shows that, in some cases, the employers are genuinely interested in trained blind workers. In these cases, education (and training) is essential and commensurate with the job. From table 5.7 we find that nearly 89% of the regular employed persons thought that education was essential or useful in getting their job.
(ii) In the opinion of the blind workers,, training has a positive effect on the status of a blind man. It enhances his prestige and self-confidence among his co-workers if and when he is able
- 63 -
Table 5e7. The extent to which an employed person's education had been useful in getting a job
Extent No« of cases (%)
Essential 51 (57a3)
Useful 28 (31.5)
Partially useful 5 (5.6)
Not useful 5 (5.6)
Total 89 (100.0)
to show his knowledge about machines and technical jobs» This
is very important because the blind worker is likely to be
looked down on as an object of sympathy by his mates. A trained
blind worker among a large number of untrained sighted workers
is sure to get more respectful attention.
From the above analysis, it should become clear that for the rehabi
litation of a blind man education is indispensable as it makes him fit not
only for employment but also for working together with sighted co-workers.
- 64 -Chapter б —
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE OF THE BLIND
601 Introduction In the previous chapter we have discussed the phenomenon of tran
sition of the blind from education/training to work. Once the blind person has landed on a job he/she faces a new world with new problems and challenges. These vary from one type of employment to another, namely, open or regular wage earning job and self-employment« These also vary from different types of firms, namely, public, autonomous and private; for different occupational categories the blind holds as a profession, namely, professional, administrative, clerical, sales, service, agriculturist and production workers; for different categories of jobs, namely, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, etc, The main questions we could attempt to answer in this chapter are what type of training leads to what type of employment, how is the stop-gap job (see Chapter 5) related to the present job, how is the blind person's employment related to his/her income, and what factors make a blind person seIf-employed? We have also attempted to identify from the unemployed blind persons the reasons for their unemployment. The responses might lead to formation of policy implications in respect of defining a just employment for the blind, a better transition of the blind from education to work, a just reward system for the blind» We shall first discuss the distribution of the employed blind respondents by some of the above-mentioned characteristics,
6„2 The distribution of the blind by different characteristics of employment It has already been mentioned that we could trace 225 school-
leavers in our survey and 91 of them declared to be unemployed at the time of the survey» This gives us an unemployment rate of 40% which is slightly higher than what one could expect to get in cases of sighted school-leavers under the similar circumstances. What is more interesting is to note the high proportion of self-employed people among those employed at 33%. The regular labour market being less welcoming, the blind person has to choose ways of livelihood taking seIf-employment. It should be noted that the informal sector of employment is not being considered here (see the case study of beggars later), The regular employees are mainly distributed
- 65
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- 66 -
Private
38.6« Autonora,
10.2*
51.0*
Public
Diagram 8. Open employment in different sectors—sum pie chart of per cent grouped by sector.
Sales
ProdUCtll .
Diagram 9. Nature of job, open employment—sum pie chart of per cent grouped by open employment.
Agricult.
Sales
profiteer-
Diagram 10. Nature of job, self employment—sum pie chart of per cent grouped by self employment.
- 67 -
between the public and private sectors of the economy (51.1% and 38.6% respectively) , the autonomous institutions having a very small share (10,2%). Given the size of the private sector employment in the State, it would be observed that the private sector is doing more than its share in employing the .blind« Another characteristic of the regular employees survey is that nearly 90 per cent of them are on permanent jobs« Among the regular employees the "service" and the "professional", technical and related activities as occupations cater for 78% of the individuals surveyed, whereas among the self-employed, agriculture as an occupation caters for three out of four respondents. The production activities cater for slightly more than one out of ten regular employees. More than half of the employed (regular and self/ are involved in semi-skilled j-obs which would mean that not all of those working in technical and related areas and in "service" are fully skilled» Only one out of seven of the employees are working as skilled workers »
Table б02„ Employed blind, persons classified by category of job
Category of job No„ of cases (%)
Skilled 18 (14.0) Semi-skilled 75 (58.1) Unskilled 36 (27„9)
Total 129 (100.0)
Non-response : 5 We attempted to verify if the incidence of employment is dependent
on some characteristics of the respondents such as age, sex, region of home (urban/rural), respondent's own education, etcQ For this purpose we used the -technique of discriminant analysis о
When -the dependent variable is a simple dichotomy, discriminant analysis is a convenient technique for multivariate analysis in order to predict a dichotomous outcome from a number of variables with different scaling characteristics« This is very similar to regression analysis technique» A number of variables are used as predictors. They are given different weights to maximize the accuracy of prediction. The criterion (dependent) variable in discriminant analysis is not a single continuous
- 68 -
variable as in the case of regression analysis. It is a set of mutually
exclusive categories. The objective is to predict in which category an
individual would belong. The predictor variables with highest coefficients
would predict the category best. The procedure locates a vector or vectors
(called discriminant functions) in the total predictor space that best
separate the categories of the individuals. The maximum number of disc
riminant functions is the smaller of the number of variables used or the
number of categories on the outcome (dependent) variable. Since we are
dealing with two categories of the outcome variable (employed and unemployed),
no more than one vector could be obtained. The standardized canonical dis
criminant function coefficient for each discriminating variable gives the
relative contribution to that function, when the associated sign is ignored«,
The sign denotes whether the variable is making a positive or negative con
tribution» From these coefficients one could compare the relative impor
tance of each discriminating variable on the dependent variable-
To predict the employability of the trained blind, it was assumed
that educational level of the respondent, having a stop-gap job, age, region
of home, sex, parents' education, and extent of blindness are important
variables« Table 6.3 shows that having a stop-gap job is the most powerful
predictor of employment, followed by age and home region. It is striking
to note that influence of the duration of respondent's education on employ
ment is strongly negative. This needs explanation. An unemployed blind
person continues to undergo training because of the freely available facility
open to him, and the longer a blind person in our sample has remained unem
ployed, -che longer he had been undergoing some kind of training« This is
reflected by a very strong negative coefficient associated with the variable
"duration of education" of the blind individual» It can also be observed
that sex, parents' education, and extent of blindness do not influence
employability significantlye
6e3 Present employment and relation with training
An analysis was carried out to examine what kind of training the
blind undertake' and what kind of occupation such training helps the blind
to have. If the occupation and the training are matched well, the situation
would be favourablee If they are completely unrelated, the situation would
- 69 -
Stop-gap job
Respondent's education
Age
Region of home (urban % (rural ;
Sex (male % (female :
1) 0)
1) 0)
Table 603a
Variable Discriminant co-efficients
0.567
- 0.0523
0.519
0.278
0.133
Parents8 education 0„050 (total of father1s and mother's education)
Extent of blindness -- 0.023
call for betterment. Since our study is biaised towards the blind who had
gone through some kind of education or training, obviously most of them
would have some academic traininge It is observed that every individual in
regular employment had some academic training and except 15 (17%) of them
all had some kind of vocational education» Our interest now is to find out
what kind of training is most popular and how this training is related to
the occupation he/she holds in regular employment In table 6.4 we can
seo v/rat kind of vocational training the employees, with different levels of
academic education, had taken and the nature of their job. It can be obser
ved that among the 88 persons having regular employment, 49 (55.7%) had
technical education, 32 (36.4%) had training in crafts, weaving, sewing, etc,
(denoted by "others" in the table and henceforth to be called "crafts" by
the first item), 24 (27.3%) in music and only 1 (101%) in agriculture and
animal husbandry« It is to be noted that among the 73 persons having
vocational education nearly 45% had taken more than one type of course.
In respect of the relationship between vocational training and academic
training,, it can be observed that those who had undertaken vocational
traiYiing have come from a wide range of academic training (from acquaintance
with the 3 Rs to post-graduate level). The three levels of academic
training - higher (graduate and post-graduate level), medium (up to class
XII) and lower (up to VIII) have combined differently with technical training,
In -the higher level, we find that 25% had technical training, whereas in the
- 70 -
Table 6.4. Open-employed blind* classified by nature of job and levels of academic education and vocational training
Nature of job
Professional, Technical and related
Clerical and related
Up to Class VIII Up to Class XII
rti d en о с -и й ü nJ о и. > -p
M - l , T - 2 , 0 - 1 MT - 3, MO -1 ТО - 2, АО - 1
Total 11
T - 1
Total
T - 3, 0 - 3 MO - б, ТО - 2 None - 2
16
Graduate and Post-graduate
0 - 1 MO - 3 None - 4
T - 1
Sales T - 2, TO - 1
Total
T - 2 T - 1
T - 6, 0 - 2 MO - 4, MT - 1 TO - 1, None - 2
Total 16
T - 5, MT - 1 TO - 2, MTO - 1 None - 3
12
M - l T - 2 None - 3
Agriculture and animal husbandry
None - 1
Total 1
Production and related T - 3, MT - 1
Total 4
T - 5, MTO - 1
Total 36 36 16
M - Music T - Technical training 0 - Others (includes crafts, weaving, knitting and sewing, book-binding, etc.) MT - Music and technical training, and so on, (* relevant data were not available from 2 people)
- 71 -
Table 6„5о Self-employed blind classified by nature of job and levels of academic education and vocational training
Nature of job Up to Class VIII Up to Class XII
Professional, Technical and related
M - 3, MO - 1
Total
Up to post-graduation
Administrative and Management
Sales
Total
0 - 1, TO - 2 MO - 1, None - 1
Total
None - 1
jriculture and animal husbandry A - 26, TA - 1
MAO - 1, MTAO - 1 None - 1
A - 3
Total 30
Production and related
Total
0 - 1
Total 39
~ Music - Technical training
- Agriculture ana animal husbandry
-• Others (including crafts, weaving, knitting and sewing, book-binding, etc.)
- 72 -
1 Low Medium
Levels of academic training
I High
Diagram 11, Percentage of workers with technical education at various levels of academic training foi some selected jobs.
- 73 -
medium and lower levels such persons constitute 61.1% and 63„9% respectively
of the total. In the case of music, the corresponding percentage figures
are 25, 25 and 31.6, and in the case of crafts, 25, 41.7 and 31.1. There
is practically no relationship between the type of vocational training one
undertakes and the formal education one possesses. One thing is, however,
clear, that the higher the level of one's academic education, the lower is
one's chance of taking technical education. In respect of occupation, we
observe from table 6.4 that out of 24 regular employees who had gone through
training in music, 8 work in the service sector and 2 even in production.
Of the 49 employees who had technical training, 19 are in the service sector
and 8 in clerical or sales work. Ail these indicate the weakness of the
relationship between the training and the job. A similar picture is also
there in the case of those who had training in crafts0 But there are cases
also where we find good matching» Another thing to be noted is that there
are 31 individuals among the regular employees who had taken training in two
or three vocations» There are persons, for example, in production who had
taken training in music and/or crafts, besides technical training» The
tz¿Lining in such cases can be said to have broadly matched with the job.
From table 6.5 we find that in the case of self-employed persons there is a
gocd match between training and jobs in most cases» 75% of the self-
e-uc 1 ci'ее persons are engaged in agriculture and/or animal husbandry. Except one, all such persons had training in the corresponding vocation. In this case most of the persons, had lower level education»
When asked if the blind person perceives his training as related to the actual needs of the job, the response was in the affirmative in two out of three cases. Out of a total number of 134 regular blind employees surveyed, 104 responded to the question, 37 (35.6%) were of the opinion that there was no relation between the content of training he/she had and the skill needs of the job, and the rest (64.4%) asserted that there was a relationshipо In fact, the situation is worse. In the absence of a content analysis of the job and the education/training, it is difficult to establish the actual magnitude of the correspondence between training and employment. When a subjective analysis is made as was done in our case, the findings would only give the direction and the magnitude would not be reliable. It is true that there exists a "mismatch"1 between training and
- 74 -
employment, as we have found that the length of studies has a negative
relationship with the incidence of employment0
60 4 S top-gap j obs
We have already noted the phenomenon of stop-gap jobs before the blin
enter regular employment„ We have noted that 76 respondents of our sample
of 225 undertook such jobs» We had also noted befores the relationship
between these jobs and the previous training. While we wanted to know to
what extent the regular jobs of the respondents correspond to the stop-gap
jobs, it appeared that only 2 out of 5 respondents found any correspondence
between the two«, This means that not only stop-gap jobs were better related
to the previous training, such a relationship could not be maintained while
accepting a regular job* This would signify that the blind person would"be
taking any job obtainable without caring for what interest him/her or his/her
experience0
Table 6.6, Relation of present employment with stop-gap job
If related No. of cases (%)
Yes
No
Total
24
38
62 .
(38.
(61.
(100,
.7)
.3)
,0).
6 = 5 The working environment of the blind
The "modern sector of employment has been only recently opened to
the blind population» One would expect a lot of problems of adaptation of
both the sighted and the blind to the place of work« We are concerned with
the blind and particularly whether he/she perceives that the working environ
ment is congenial to his/her work. Often it is surmised that the blind
person is given a job out of compassion and piety and not because he/she can
contribute to the production of the: firm,, On the other hand, it is also
hypothesized that a blind person is subject to exploitation, injustice and
discimination, since his power of negotiation is limited* One would then
like to know, given the same qualification and experience, how the blind
person perceives his/her position in a firm as related to a sighted co-worker.
Our evidence of this opinion poll is reassuring - out of 90 regular employees
84 thought his/her position in the concern was, on the whole, the same as
that of a sighted worker„
- 75 -
Another indicator for assessing the working environment developed by us was the attitude of the sighted worker towards the blind as perceived by the latter. We identified four types of attitude, e.g. compassionate, comrade-like, indifferent and denigrating, as if on a scale of gradual degradation of the attitude» It is interesting to note that most of the sighted workers6 (67,8%) attitude is compassionate, followed by comrade-like feeling (2404%)0 None of the sighted workers. had been denigratingy only one out of twelve has been indifferent» Naturally, a blind worker would like to be treated as a comrade rather than being sympathised "withy but compassion is an oriental trait. As the society gets more and more industrialised, a better appreciation of the capacity of the blind would be possible and one could expect a shift in the attitude from compassion to comrade-like feeling of the sighted towards the blind« However« if this summarized, subjective assessment has any sense, one would tend to believe that the blind worker is happy in his work so far as the attitude of the sighted worker towards him is concerned.
The same type of phenomenon is noted while employers5 behaviour towards the blind is assessed by the latter0 Only two cases have been cited to be indifferent and another two unfavourable out of ninety respondents о 86 of them (95.6%) found the employers0 attitude towards them favourablee
In summary one might observe that the blind man finds his working environment congenial to him. In a sense it is obvious« Life of a blind person at home or in the street is hard«, His dependence on society tortures hiiüc Once he is independent or at least contributing something to the
society and to the family he feels his identity in society and feels like
coming cut of the shackles of bondage of incapacity and invalidity. He is
relieved:. Whatever may be the working condition he is happye But the
scci'sry has more to do. Once it has been discovered that the blind can
contribute, can be self-reliant and can cater for others' needs, when the
attitudinai blindness of the sighted is cured, much more will have to be
done о
6.6 Degree of satisfaction with the job Another attitudinai question asked of the blind person was to what
extent he was satisfied with the job. Degree of satisfaction does not depend
- 76 -
Table 6e70 Working environment for open-employed
(a) Position compared to that of the sighted No* of cases (%)
Better
More or less the same
Worse
1 (1.1)
84 (93„3)
5 (5.6)
Total 90 (lOOoO).
(b) Attitude of sighted co-workers No,, of cases (%)
Compassionate
Comrade-like
Indifferent
Denigrating
Total
61 (67e8)
22 (24.4)
7 (7.8)
0 (0)
90 (100,0)
(c) Attitude of employer No. of cases (%)
Favourable
Indifferent
Unfavourable
Total
86 (95.6)
2 (2.2)
2 (2.2)
90 (100.0).
only on the work environment, it depends on the relationship between the
training' and employment, career possibilities on the job, justice in res
pect of a reward system and also his own feeling about the extent to which
he himself is doing justice to society.(the phenomenon of "divine discontent5
among the most successful persons is not unknown in India).
Whatever may be the factors behind the feeling, one out of three blind
employees is not satisfied with his job - a substantially high rate for the
group finding the work environment so conducive I It should be mentioned
that 116 employees out of a total of 134 employees surveyed responded to
this question and 42 were not satisfied, 2 indifferent and 72 satisfied
with the job« Some material aspects will be analysed in the following
section to identify if the reason for dissatisfaction is something which can
be articulated and corrective action suggested«,
- 77 -
Table 6e8u job satisfaction and related characteristics
(a) If satisfied with job Noe of cases (%)
72 (62.1)
2 (1.7)
42 (36,2)
Total 116 (100.0)
(Open- and self-employed taken together)
(b) If salary commensurate;
with duty No. of cases (%) with training No. of cases (%)
Yes 69 -(79.3) Yes 55 (67.1 )
No 18 (20.7) No 27 (32.9)
Total 87 (100,0) Total 82 (100.0)
(Response from open-employed only)
(c) Factors for promotion No. of cases (%)
Seniority 26 (86=7)
Further training 1 (3e3)
Other means 3 (10.0)
No prospects 0 (0)
Total 30 (100.0)
(Response from open-employed only)
6„7 Employment career and income
While analysing the characteristics of the employment market for
the blind , we. thought it would be useful if we could identify how the
mobility in career takes place as perceived by the blind person himself*
In regular employment for the sighted, two criteria are noted most freqently
as being responsible for upward career mobility. These are: seniority on
the job and academic/professional excellence achieved through further training,
There is a host of other criteria, each one of them having some influence on
promotion but for simplicty we lumped them as "others". Although response
was only from 30 employees, it was interesting to note that 26 of them (86.7%)
cited "seniority" as the criterion for promotion. Only one of them thought
- 78 -
that further training was the criteria for promotion. Evidence on the lack
of relationship between training and employment mounts as we proceed. This
may be one of the reasons for dissatisfaction on the job which credits the
length of duration and not the excellence of the individual.
Another attitudinal variable indicating if the salary of a regular
employee was commensurate with his duty and training was analysed. It was
found that one out of five regular employees thought that the salary was not
commensurate with his duty, while one out of three thought that the salary
was not commensurate with his training. Giving already a subjective assess
ment of the relationship between training and salary, 87 regular employees
responded to the question on duty and 82 to the question on training out of
90 regular employees. "" -
Another aspect of the employment market is the reward system.
Here we can identify two markets: regular employment market and self-employ
ment market, which are very distinct as has been noted before. It would be
surprising to note that the median monthly salary of the regular employees
is Rse 592 while the same for the self-employed is Rs. 122. Given the
reporting structure of the income, this type of underestimation of one's
own income in the case of self-employed is not unusual. Table 6.9 gives the
distribution of monthly income for the two types of employees.
Table 6.9» Distribution of monthly income
Rupees per month Regular employees Sélf-employees
Less than 100 0 13 101 - 199 1 11 200 - 349 12 5 350 - 499 11 1 500 - 749 54 0 750 - 999 10 0 1000 and above - 1
Total 88 .31
The salary of the regular employees corresponds to some extent with
the regular employment market, whereas that of the self-employees might
reflect the savings and not the salary0 We examined to what extent the
salaries of regular employees depended on region of home, sex, duration of
education and the duration on the job. It has been found that duration of
- 79 -
stay on the job plays a very significant role in determining the salary.
Other factors considered here are statistically insignificant. The regres
sion equation found is s
Y = 499.257 + 18.068x + 20553x - 4.187x - 31.101x
(5.674) (2e974) (38.011) (67.996)
(Figures in parenthesis give standard errors)
R" = 0o128, F = 2*978, d.f. 4,81
In the above equation, Y = monthly salary,
x = length of service in years
x = duration of education
x (region of home) = 0 when rural
= 1 when urban
x (sex) = 0 when female
= 1 when male
Another regression line was fitted with only the significant
explanation variable. The equation of the line is:
Y = 495.515 + 18.318X
(5.472)
íT = 0.116, F = 11.206, d.f. 1,85
б,8 The phenomenon of self-employment We have discussed above the case of 44 self-employed people of our
sample. Their individual education, family educational and income status have been discussed before» We shall discuss here the employment situation of this self-employed group, based on several characteristics such as: the reasons for taking up seIf-employment, type of organization set-up, phenomenon of partnership and source of capital. Given a disorganized labour market based yet on compassion, without linkage between training and employment.» one would like to promote se If-employment among the blind, which couli create employment for other blind people as well. The creation of employment as a characteristic of seIf-employment is not only true for the blind but the whole population. One becomes, however, slightly frustrated when one notes that the most important reason for seIf-employment is not a better life situation including earning and work environment, but non-availability of regular employment« Given some training, a blind person, as a
- 80 -
sighted person, looks for a regular employment. 28 out of the 43 responding seIf-employees gave this as a reason for landing on doing something on his own. As we have noted before that most of the self-employees are working in agriculture and few or none in technical/craftsmanship, one could find a lot of scope to diversify the self-employment market* Table 6.10 shows the distribtuion of the self-employed by reasons for taking up self-employment»
Table 6=10. Reasons for taking up self-employment
% (based on 43 Reason Frequency* respondents) Non-availability of employment 28 6501 Better working conditions - 3 7.0 Availability of capital 5 11.6 Availability of landed property 1 2.3 Others 17 39.5
("̂ Multiple response permitted)
It would be noted "Availability of Capital" comes second in the list of preferred reasons. There is reason to believe that this could be promoted by policy actions. It should also be noted that various other reasons exist which promote self-employment and could not be identified in our analysis о Total number of respondents in this group was 17, a very high share calling for further analysis.
Among the 44 self-employed interviewed, 35 were working independently, signifying that seIf-employment is an individual phenomenon for the blind. Those who were working on partnership, in no case was the partner blind, nor was he handicapped in any way. Although the number of cases is small, tais signifies that when a blind person establishes a partnership venture, he would like to have a sighted person to overcome his physical deficiencye
To establish a seIf-employment enterprise, capital is an essential element. Would one not be surprised to find that in three out of four cases voluntary organisations are cited as the source of that capital, government and banks being cited only in one case out of five. Family, friends and relatives are cited in one out of three cases, the second
- 81 -
important source« Needless to mention -that as perceived by the blind, entrepreneurs deserve more attention from the Government.
Table 6.11o Source of capital
No. of cases* Source (% based on 41 respondents)
Family,, relatives & friends 14 (34.1) Government and bank 8 (19,5) Voluntary organisations 31 (75,6)
(*Multiple response permitted)
6,9 The phenomenon of unemployment While tracing the blind individuals who underwent some kind of
training, out of 225 who could be traced in our studyg 91 declared themselves unemployede We have discussed this phenomenon before. Here we would like to analyse the causes of the unemployment of the blind and why they did not take self-employment» Seven causes were identified "a priori" and set before the blind to mark which of them applied to him/her specifically. The distribution is shown in table 6*12.
Table 6„12, Causes of unemployment
С auses of unemployment Lack of job opportunities Lack, of information Inadequacy of qualification Lack of effort None to help Employers5 indifferent attitude Family reluctance Others
{̂ Multiple response permitted)
What is striking in the above table is the frequency of "lack of information" as the reason for unemployment. Definitely a lot can be done in this area. 21 unemployed cited lack of effort as a cause as well. This is a question of attitude. Why should one not try to get an employment while family reluctance is not a reasons for remaining unemployed. It is also striking
Frequency*
43
36
24
21
27
8
0
14
% (N 70)
61.4
51.5
3403
30.0
38.6
11.4
0
20.0
- 82 -
to note that according to the blind person's perception, employers' attitude is not an important reason for remaining unemployed« Only 8 persons out of 70 cited employers8 attitude as a causea Lack of job opportunities as a cause for unemployment applies not only to the blind but to the sighted as well о îîie item "none to help" to find an employment appears in as many as
27 cases, which means that an instituional mechanism to secure employment for
the blind would help reduce the problem« But availability of an institution
mechanism in itself could not do much if the blind are not helped to be in
contact with them. In a welfare society one would think of sending offers
of employment to the blind rather than the blind coming and looking for
employment»,
Among the unemployed, natur-ally one would like to test the idea of
seif-employment. 46 out of 67 respondents cited dearth of capital as the
bottleneck for taking up a self-employment. Lack of information came second
in importance cited by 30 individuals, and lack of family support was cited
by 11. All this gives us indications for policy measures.
Table б о 13 e Reasons for not being self-employed
No«, of cases* Reasons (% based on 67 respondents)
Dearth of capital 46 (68„7) Lack of family support 11 (16„4) Want of proper information 30 (4408) Others 23 (34e3)
(̂ 'Multiple response permitted)
- 83 -
Chapter 7
SOCIAL STATUS OF BLIND IN WEST BENGAL
7ol Objectives
In a country like India, so vast in area and character, it is
usually very difficult to ascertain the status of a particular section of
people.. It is far more difficult again to determine with all definiteness
the status of a disabled person0 Illiteracy being widespread, disabled
persons are more in the poor illiterate sections» These poor people are in
most cases guided by blind faith, superstitions, and various other unscien
tific factors. A particular disease which might result in blindness or
other types of disability is often looked upon as something very simple and
treated by country doctors« This is because of the absence of awareness
among the parents. Besides, these problems were all looked upon as problems
of an individual or of a family, and the individual attitude towards a blind
or a physically disabled person gradually shaped the social attitude. A
child born blind in a family usually would be looked upon as a burden to the
family and any investment in such a child was thought to be a waste.
Generally, therefore, a blind person in a family was merely a "stomach to
be regularly filled and nothing more". The blind person too used to be
motivated slowly in the same way and thought that he or she was a "worthless,
iil'-fat.&d being" born as a "curse88 to the family and society, and should
have no choice of his or her own» It is curious again that all efforts now
being made for the education and employment of the blind are very recent,
implying thereby that we had attached no importance to this aspect for a
long period of time,
feile undertaking this survey, the team had in mind the objective
of finding out, as far as practicable, the status of the blind in relation
to education, employment and marriage„ Even in the case of a normal sighted
person,- education and employment have a definite bearing upon the status in
family and society., A man on getting a job enjoys special attention from
all and an average housewife has special significance in the family if she
earns money through a dignified job» In the case of a blind youth also
the condition is the same» Once a burden to the family, he/she may become
an indispensable member as soon as he/she begins to earn for the family.
- 84 -
This is a general observation. Our objective was to find a scientific and data-based observation of the status of the blind before and after education, employment and marriage, in order to determine the impact of all the factors, and to ascertain whether the arrangements for education and employment being made by different agencies have the goal of bringing about a favourable change in the atmosphere as a wholea The objective of this aspect of study is to bring out a clear picture of the situation including the kind of role played by the society, the family and the institution in shaping the fortune of the blind in the state» Besides, this may also reflect how far a slight change in status consequent upon education and training can boost up the progress of a blind person as a productive worker, as one growing up with a sense of dignity, faith and responsibility.
7 с 2 Education and social status Education has a definite bearing upon the status of the blind.
Normally, of course, the parents feel it a wasteful investment in a blind child's education« But when education given to a blind person proves fruitful both socially and economically, the family and the society begin to attach importance to ite Teaching in schools and colleges, teaching in music college, announcing arrival and departure times of trains, doing a bit of public relations in an office, etc may be -the jobs for the physically nano.;, capped» Indeed, many such jobs are presently being done by the blind youth (both sexes) quite satisfactorily« That blind youth are doing quite well in different capacities and that they are earning dignified sums has become an impetus for the parents and the society for educating the blind children nowadays. Many parents and guardians who had the least interest in their blind wardsB education are now coming forward to arrange for their
The study does not have any data in particular to prove that education has a bearing upon social status of a blind person, but this is an area which probably does not require any specific data to prove that education leads to enjoyment of social status of a dignified character. Education is always a matter of status and in the case of a sightless person, education is definitely a step towards greater social recognition. Education unfolds the power, perfection and personality within man, and so education
- 85 -
and absence of education in this country makes a great deal of difference qualitativelye Many are illiterate in the country and so nobody takes any notice of an illiterate person and when a disabled person obtains education everybody takes an interest in him/her and it becomes a matter of prestige for che person concerned«,
If education thus acquired by a blind person is followed immediately by some employment or self-employment, it is, to the esteem of the people at large, of utmost importance» But if unemployment lingers for a long period of time in spite of training and education, education loses much of its importance. All the respondents in this survey had some education, though nearly 40% of them were unemployed. It is nice to note that in response to the query whether they were on an equal footing with other members of the family, 91.2% of the respondents said that they were on an equal footing, meaning thereby that they had equal importance and opportunity with others of the family. From this high percentage, together with the high rate of unemployment, it can easily be inferred that education played a big role in placing them honourably in the family« Maybe education followed by unemployment over the years ceases to be a status determinant in the society at large, but not in the family«
7e3 Employment and social status To examine if employment affects the status of a blind person,
those who were employed during the period under investigation were asked to give their opinion about the treatment they received from family, relatives, neighbours and friends before and after employment. Table 701 and table A4 in the appendix show vividly how the treatment from the four categories of people changed significantly in favour of the respondents after they got some employment* In the case of family members, the percentages for categories "not favourable" and "indifferent" have dropped sharply from 6.5 and 41.1 to 0.9 and 15.9 respectively, and consequently that for "favourable" has gone up to 83.2 from 52 „Зв The figures for relatives, neighbours and friends speak of similar or an even better situation»
That employment affects status favourably has also been evident in what the blind workers feel about their sighted co-workers8 and employers' attitude (discussed in previous chapter) towards them.
- 86
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- 87 -
7U4 Marriage and social status
In a poor country like India, where 67% of the people are below the
poverty line and where all developmental efforts are devoured by rapid
growth of population,, it is indeed difficult to ascertain whether marriage
leads to social status. But in the case of a blind, or for that matter of
an otherwise disabled person, marriage has a definite bearing upon social
status. Generally speaking, marriage is looked upon as a social acceptance
of the blind as an effective member« A blind person who was initially
looked upon by the family and the society as a curse, can marry only when he
is widely recognized as a productive member of the society, able to run
affairs independently and can prove himself/herself as worthy enough of being
'the centre of interest and dependence, of a few other members of the familye
The present study reveals that marriage has definitely affected the social
status of the blind and that the blind concerned are quite conscious about
this * Only 17% of the married blind said that marriage added no additional
social prestige to their life, while 82«,7% remarked that marriage in their
life vías definitely a prestigious phenomenon.
Table 7 a 2 e Marriage and social status
If marriage enhances social prestige No. of cases (%)
Yes 63 (82e9)
No 13 .(17.1)
Total 76 (100.0)
Statistical test of association between marital status (single or
married) and employment status (employed or unemployed) shows that the two
events - marriage and having a job - which give the blind social recognition,
are very much related,, Percentage of "employed and married" is much higher
than percentage of "unemployed and married" among the respondents (see table
A5 in the appendix)„
- 88 -
Chapter 6
EMPLOYERS£ PERCEPTION ABOUT THE BLIND EMPLOYEES
In the previous chapter we have discussed the experience of employ
ment» Attempts have also been made to study the view of the employers
regarding the suitability of employment of the blind in different establish
ments. This may add a new dimension to the study.
To study this aspect¡. 13 employers were interviewed, of which 3 were
from the chemicals and pharmaceuticals area of production. The others were
one each from potteries, biscuit; metal box, tobacco, aluminium, electrics
and electricals, cotton spinning and weaving, textile manufacturing and pro
cessing, hospital and mint - 6 of 'them belonged to the public sector, 6 to the
private and one to the joint sector,
It is obvious that the blind will not be in a position to do all
types of job in their respective industrys In each industry some specific
jobs have been allotted to them on the basis of their suitability. These
incl-.ids bottle washing, nailing, cap fitting, packing (in chemical industries) ,
processing and packing (in potteries), carton formation (in biscuit factories),
sorting and reclaiming, sub-assembly type of work, bobbin cleaning, and
switching and dressing, etc. It appears from the list of items of work that
jobs of a repeditive nature which do not require much special skill have been
allotted to the blind employees.
It is presumed that comparatively big industries/establishments
have more opportunity to employ blind people due to the fact that they have
various sections to process the product manufactured and have scope for
work of a repetitive nature which they think suits well the blind peoplee
Regarding the job performance of the blind workers, it has been
found that quantum is average in the case of 10 establishments and lower in
-che case of 3 establishments., In no case has a higher quantum been reported.
As regards the quality of job it has been reported that 9 industries con
sidered it fair, 2 indifferent, and 2 good. So far as their speed of work
is concerned, it has been opined by the majority (9) of -the establishments,
that it was average, whereas 4 have stated that it was slow» So, it is
clear from the above that a high majority of the employing agencies do not
- 89 -
consider the blind people very productive» Such a view from employers is
not conducive to improving the employment situation of the blind.
Turning to the quality of worker, it is found that in different
aspects it differs. In the case of mobility, a maximum (10) of agencies
said that the blind workers are fair,2 agencies,said that they are indif
ferent, whereas one said that they are good» As regards punctuality, 8
agencies stated that punctuality is good and 5 said that it is fair. In
response to the query regarding the level of understanding, 6 agencies said
that it is good, 5 said it is fair, and 2 said it is indifferent. Regarding
deportment, 8 considered the blind workers as fair, 3 good and 2 indifferent«
The relation with the co-workers is another aspect of the workers' quality.
In this aspect it is marked that a very high number of agencies (11) con
sidered it good. Only one agency viewed it as fair and another one as
indifferent. General behaviour of the blind workers has also been stated
as good by 10 agencies«, Another 3 agencies considered it as fair.
So, the overall picture regarding the quality of workers is
definitely encouraging. The opinion of the agencies is quite favourable in
four areas viz. punctuality, understanding, relation with co-workers and
deportment» No doubt these are the important components of workers'
qualities. So, we may say that basically the quality of blind workers
working in the selected thirteen establishments is satisfactory.
In response to our question of whether they were willing to appoint
more blind workers, only 3 of them gave affirmative answers. All others
(10) have decided not to appoint any more blind persons in their establish
ments. It envisages the fact that even if during the recent years the
global rrend is to take care of the handicapped, the attitude of the employers
is s-ci 11 very discouraging.
While making comments on the future prospect of blind employees,
only > respondents stated that they have the same prospects as other sighted
employées0 Among the rest of the respondents 3 said that the prospects
were very limited, 5 said that they do not have any future prospects, and
one stated that the blind employees are unsuitable. One respondent has
made no comments. This presents us with a gloomy picture of the career
prospects of the blind, as perceived by the employers.
- 90 -
№iether the blind employees need any more training has also been askedо In this context, 3 out of 13 respondents viewed this as necessary, whereas 7 others stated that there is no necessity for further training» 3 respondents have made no comments B
Employers were asked about whether they are facing any problem by appointing the blind people0 In response to this, employers of 6 undertakings have stated that they are not facing any special problem by appointing them» On the contrary, 7 employers have stated that they are facing some problems. Among these seven, 2 have said that the blind employees cannot be rotated in shifts, another 2 have said that they are capable of sane selective jobs only, hence their area of engagement is inflexibles One said that they require feedback every time as well as constant supervision, which creates problems for the management. One employer is of the opinion that 'the blind employees are unable to move without assistance in departments with machines in operation, thereby creating a constant need for keeping watch on them. The thirteenth respondent to this question said that they cannot perform duties according to requirements. So, it is clearly visible that the majority of the employers (7 out of 13) are facing som-a problems by appointing the blind persons« Studying all these aspects, we find -that the majority of employers do not consider the appointment of the blind worthwhile, which is naturally very discouragingо Such a situation suggests giving careful consideration to training courses in future, placing them in proper agencies and rendering an adequate follow-up service..
- 91 -
Chapter 9
THE BLIND BEGGARS
The present research, while concentrating on the trained blind, did
not want to ignore completely the untrained blind, especially those who live
on the illicit profession of begging. The type and extent of their blind
ness ¿ the family background - particularly education and income of the family
- availability of information on alternative career possibilities and their
attitude towards education and regular employment were subjects of our
enquiry based on personal interviews of only 19 beggars met on the street.
Only one of them was female; 7 of them were 19 years old or younger, the
remaining 9 aged 20 years or more. 18 of them came from rural areas and
only one from an urban area0 6 of "them were married. The following
sections give the results of our interviews.
Type and extent of blindness
The following table will represent the type and extent of blindness
of the 19 people interviewed.
Extent of blindness
Type Total Perception of light Total
Congenital 7 1 8 (42.1%)
Adventitious 8 3 11 (57.9%)
Total 15 (78.9%) 4 (21el%) 19
Age when blinded and medical treatment
All of those suffering from adventitious blindness became blind
before the age of 6. In response to the query of whether they had received
medical treatment, 18 (94e7%) responded that they had received medical
treatment: and one said he did not receive any.
Educational background of parents
The educational achievement of the families of the respondents
show that most of them came from uneducated families. The situation is
shown belowг
Both parents without any educations : 12 Father (read up to from Class V to Class X) and mother (no education) : 5
- 92 -
Father (read up to Class X) and mother (read up to Class VIII) : 1 Not available : 1
Thus, 63.1% of the total blind beggars under review hailed from families without any education. 26.3% of them hailed from homes where only the father had some education and the mother none, and 5„3% of them belonged to families where both parents are somewhat educated. Correspondingly again, it is found that most of the respondents are also uneducated. Of the 19 respondents, 16 (84.2%) reported to have received no education at all and 3 (15.8%) had received some education (from Class IV to VIII).
Family income A survey of the income of the families of the respondents reveals
that most of them are in utter poverty«, The income structure of the families is as follows :
Monthly income of the family Number
Less than R. 100 б (31.6%) Between Rs. 101 and Rs. 199 4 (21.1%) Between Rs. 200 and Rs. 349 7 (36.8%) Between Rs. 350 and Rs. 499 0 Between Rs. 500 and Rs. 749 2 (10.5%)
Total 19
This high incidence of poverty is one of the factors that led to the traditional illiteracy of these families and this illiteracy again led to the ignorance of the parents about the availability of opportunities for the prevention and cure of blindnessa This situation again proves the fact that these unfortunate blind people had possibly no avenues open to them other than begging for their livelihood.
When asked about their own income from begging, 14 of them could not state anything and 5 of them said that they earned between Rs. 100 and Rs. 200 per month. It is, of course, true that begging does not yield a handsome amount, but begging is not unpaying also. A young blind man earning about Rs. 200 per month from his engagement in a sub-contract workshop indulges in begging every evening, not because it is an attraction to him, but because it is paying.
- 93 -
Status in family
Six of the 19 felt that they were treated on an equal footing with
others in the family, while 11 opined that they were looked upon as "inferior"
to others in the family. Two of them were unable to assess their own
position in the family« The attitude of the families towards the blind
beggar is denigrating in so far as the majority of them is concerned. It
can therefore be assumed that the want of confidence in themselves has been
sufficiently contributed to by this negative attitude of the families.
Attitude towards education and employment
The beggars again are not aware of what is happening in the country.
Asked about the need for education, training and employment for the blind,
they replied that the blind are incapable of doing any work other than
begging and that the question of arranging education and training for the
blind did not arise at all.
The preceding account makes it clear that the root causes of the
misfortune of the blind beggar are primarilys
(i) widespread illiteracy?
(ii) negative attitude of the families and society, and
(iii) surrender to the prevailing situation by the blind because of
their ignorance.
- 94 -
Chapter 10
PRINCIPAL FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
PLANNING EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT FOR THE BLIND
1. Principal findings of the study
Based on the analysis in the preceding chapters, the principal findings
are summarized below:
1. Statistical information on the blind around the world is
deplorably insufficient, and the same is true for the State of West Bengal
in India.
2. In West Bengal, although the number of institutions for the
blind has increased since Independence, the nature and quality of
education imparted have not changed very much. However, the educators
are becoming increasingly interested in the concept formation, mobility,
daily living training and the integrated system of education that would
cater for the special needs of the blind.
3. In respect of rehabilitation of the blind, the difficulties
encountered are not only lack of job opportunities in general, but
ignorance and apathy of the society, labour politics, lack of job-related
training facilities, lack of co-ordination of programmes, lack of
environmental facilities, and the behaviour and attitudes of the blind
themselves.
4. The educational level of the parents of those blind persons
who have undergone some kind of training compares favourably with the
general educational level of the State.
5. The proportion of females with some kind of education/training
is deplorably low; in our sample, only 8.4% of blind trained individuals
were female.
6. The proportion of the blind belonging to scheduled castes and
tribes (16.8%) with some kind of education/training compares favourably
with the proportion of the group in the whole population of the State.
- 95 -
7. Three-quarters of the total population in our study became
blind after birth. The risk of blindness reduces with increasing age. Some
general diseases (e.g. typhoid, dystentry, pox, etc.) are responsible
for almost three out of four cases of blindness.
S. Almost all the victims of blindness had undergone some kind
of treatment, irrespective of their socio-economic background.
9. The cause of blindness is associated with parents' level of
education. General disease and accidents proportional3.y are more often
the cause of blindness for those individuals whose parents had no
education.
10. Most of the blind (83%) who undertook training did so for
employment possibilities; 'study for its own sake' comes a distant
second with 49%.
11. Friends, parents and relatives are the most frequent source (62%)
of information on training and education. The staff of educational
institutions is the second source with 27% of the respondents.
Media and other general information sources play a very insignificant
role in providing information on education/training opportunities for
the blind. Whatever information was available was thought to be adequate
by four out of five of the trained blind.
12. The candidate himself makes the decision on the choice of
course in more than 45% of cases, and exerts as much influence as
the institution itself. The guardian's role is insignificant. It would
imply that as soon as the guardian gets his ward admitted to the
institution, he appears to have felt relieved and does not care to know
what his ward is doing afterwards.
13. Although academic fields of studies are the most popular,
technical and agricultural courses - introduced only recently - are
increasing in popularity with the blind students.
- 96 -
14. It is striking to note that some (8%) blind individuals
have undergone training for 20 years. When a blind person trained in
an institution does not obtain employment, he continues his training
since this is available free of charge. The majority however (55.5%)
had a training duration varying from 6 to 15 years.
15. Adjusted for non-response, the proportion of open employed
with some kind of pre-employment programmes (counselling and guidance,
orientation in actual job situation, extension lectures, in-plant
training, etc.) was higher than that of self-employed and unemployed
in that order (45%, 25% and 21% respectively).
16. One out of three respondents had a stop-gap job after completing
training. In 54% of the cases, these jobs were related to their training.
17. 'Persuasion1 through personal contacts is the most important
way of getting a.job for the blind. Neither the special employment
exchange office, nor the media, nor letters of recommendation, had any
significant role to play. Although 130 of the respondents had registered
themselves with the employment exchange office, only 34 received calls
from that office. This reinforces the remark on the efficiency of the
employment exchange office.
18. Among the respondents, 40% have open employment, 20% self-
employment and the remaining 40% are unemployed.
19. Among the regular employed individuals, 56% got jobs within
two years after completing their training; 18% had to wait for six
years or more.
20. The majority (89%) of the respondents who were employed
opined that education was at least useful for getting the job.
21. Amongst the open employed, 51.1% held jobs in the public
sector, 39% in the private sector, and the remainder got their jobs
in the semi-government autonomous sector. Of the open employed blind,
90% have permanent jobs, 40% professional/technical jobs; 38.6% are
service workers, and the remainder are in production, sales and clerical
work. Of the self-employed, 75% are engaged in agricultural activities.
- 97 -
22. 39% of open employees find their regular job related to the __
stop-gap job they had.
23. Most of the blind (94%)find their status at work more or less
the same as that of the sighted workers; 68% opined that their
sighted co-workers treated them with compassion, 24% that they treated
them as equals, and only 8% that their co-workers were indifferent.
Most of them (96%) felt that the employers' attitude towards them was
favourable.
24. Of those that are employed, 36% are not satisfied with their
jobs. However, most of them (79%) think that their salaries are
commensurate with their duties, and 65% that their salaries are commensurate
with their training, although our analysis shows that duration of training
does not influence the earnings of the employed blind.
25. Most of them (87%) opine that their promotion in work depends
on seniority.
26. For self-employed respondents, voluntary agencies were the
most important source of capital for their enterprises (76% of cases).
Government plays an insignificant role, supporting only 20% of cases.
Non-availability of regular employment was the main reason for taking
up self-employment.
27. For the unemployed blind, lack of job opportunities ranks first
as the cause of unemployment, followed by lack of information. Not
having the necessary capital is the main reason for not being self-employed,
followed by lack of information.
28« Stop-gap jobs, followed by age and home region, are the major
predictors of open employment. Length of duration of education has on
the other hand a negative effect. Sex and parents' education do not have
any influence on employability.
29. The majority of the open employed blind earned monthly between
Rs.500 and 750. The median income is Rs.592 per month. Length of
service is the only significant predictor of income.
- 98 -
30p Attitude of the family members, relatives, neighbours and
friends changed significantly in favour of the blind after they had
obtained employment. Most of those blind persons who were married
(83%) opined that their status in the family and the community had
improved after their marriage. One out of three respondents in our
sample was married, and 44% of the employed respondents were married.
Amongst those that were married, 78% were employed In 20 cases
(out of 75), the spouse was also blind; 91% of the blind (whether
employed or not) felt that they were on equal footing with other
members of the family. This leads us to believe that education might
have an effect on the status of a blind person in the family.
31. Ten out of thirteen employers expressed the opinion that
the quantum of the work of blind persons compares favourably with
that of the sighted; 11 of them considered that the quality of the
work was at least fair.
32. In general, employers have reservations in respect of the
productivity of a blind worker, even if they are positive about their
overall quality in the work environment. The majority of the enterpris
in our sample did not intend to employ any more blind workers, which is
a very negative finding indeed!
33. In contrast with the trained blind, the beggars feel that
they are looked upon as inferior to others in the family. Poverty and
lack of education have a strong association with the blind taking up
begging as a profession. They do not think that blind persons could do
productive work or undertake any training; they lack information on
educational and employment opportunities. Their earnings from begging
however are not insignificant.
- 99 -
2. Implications for planning
Based on the findings given above, the implications for
planning of education and employment of the blind could be derived at
both international and national levels:
2.1 At the level of the international community
Since we are living in the decade of disabled persons,
it is natural that the international agencies pay serious attention to
the amelioration of the quality of life for the blind. The first task
is to identify the target group, i.e. the blind in all countries with
complete geographical coverage. Population censuses should cover with
all seriousness the identification of the disabled, and in our case
the blind. Intercensal surveys should be conducted in countries where
the most recent census has not enumerated this group. Without the
identification of the target group, no planning effort to uplift the
conditions of life of the blind can be useful and serious. National
co-operation, of course, is essential to carry out this task.
The international agencies should make available the services
of experts for this task in countries where such services are scarce.
They should also provide expert services to develop suitable centres for
taking care of the blind as soon as this handicap is detected, either
at birth or later. So that congenitally blind children do not fall victim
to societal prejudices and indiferrence, or are led into illicit professions
such as begging, centres should be set up to take special care of them
from birth. As they grow up, they should be provided with special
education and training suitable for their rehabilitation.
A great many improvements have been made in the content and
method of instruction of the blind, particularly to make them more mobile,
to perform socially useful tasks and to make their daily life smoother.
The know-hows should be widely distributed in the different countries
along with the provision of suitable expertise from the international
agencies. These agencies should assist in setting up training of
instructors for rehabilitation of the blind concerning all aspects of
growing up independently, education/training and employment.
- 100 -
The international agencies should also support research work
on innovative experiments in rehabilitating the blind, and disseminate
the results of such research. The same actions are also needed for
the adventitious blind, except of course the provision of post-natal
special care. To reduce the number of cases of adventitious blindness,
specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) should
undertake special programmes to inform the general public, particularly
in rural areas of developing countries, about the methods of preventing
and curing such cases. Our study demonstrates that general disease is
the most frequent cause of adventitious blindness. Timely treatment
could cure a number of such cases. Lack of education of parents/guardians
and not their means has been noted to be responsible for indifference
towards timely treatment, leading to loss of sight.
The international agencies could also help in creating worldwide
awareness of the benefits of well-organized education/training centres
and employment opportunities for the blind, and of the cost of their
dependence on society.
2.2 Implications for planning at the national and state level
The national authorities have to take more responsibility
than the international agencies in providing education and employment
opportunities for the blind. The society's attitude towards the blind
has been deplored, and only the national authorities can change such
attitudes through the use of media, legislation and provision of special
facilities for the blind in order to improve their conditions. In the
particular context of our study, we have found that lack of information
on the educational and employment opportunities for the blind is the
most important reason for their plight. Most of the information they
receive comes from friends, parents and relatives, and the media and
other organized information sources play a very insignificant role (Chapter
The country should emphasize the role of the media in disseminating
information on the educational opportunities for the blind.
- 101 -
We have also noted that those blind persons who do not have —
any kind of employment,or do not have any education, think that for the
blind neither education nor regular employment is possible (Chapter 8).
Therefore they take recourse to illicit practices such as begging.
This reinforces the need for setting up special centres to take care of
the blind children free of charge, particularly the children of the
uneducated and poor.
Village councils and the Panchayats should be involved in
identifying the blind and placing blind children in centres. It is
a paradox that there are many blind people in West Bengal who go without
care, and yet there are several education/training centres for the
blind that have difficulty in registering the blind in their centres
free of charge. Attachment towards, dependence on, and the temporary
security given by the family, discourage the blind from attending these
education/training centres. The long-term benefit of education/training
has to be demonstrated to them, and this requires persuasive efforts from
the centres as well as from the community and the family.
A three-tier system of education can be conceived: (i) special
schools for correcting developmental deficiency with compensatory and
remedial teaching programmes, where both normal and the multi-handicapped
blind can be trained, (ii) an integrated system of education with special
facilities for the blind including teachers trained in teaching blind
children and having special programmes for the blind on concept formation,
mobility, and daily living training, and (iii) vocational training-cum-
rehabilitation centres imparting training for skills easily achievable for
the blind. A very long list of tasks which the blind could perform has
been prepared by the Rehabilitation Services Division of the National
Industries for the Blind, U.S.A.(1)
A survey of markets for employment of the blind could provide
the possible areas of training to match the employment needs. This would,
under certain conditions as we shall see later, increase the relevance and
usefulness of the training programmes.
The Ministry of Education should join hands with the Ministry of
Social Welfare in developing educational programmes for the blind. Needless
to mention that, given the importance of the problem, all educational facilities should be provided free of charge to the blind.
(1) See H.J.M. Desai, Planning Employment Services for the Blind in the Developing Countries, op. cit., pp. 90-92.
- 102 -
We have observed that in the choice of a course, the blind person
takes as much responsibility as the institution itself (Chapter 4), even with
very little information. It is necessary to set up career guidance
facilities so as to canalize the blind to choose courses fitting their
aptitudes.
As observed from our study, educational opportunities for blind
women are very limited (Chapter 3). Special incentives should be provided
to encourage them to enrol in educational institutions, and special training
centres should be set up for them to suit their aptitudes and possible
employment opportunities.
In the organization of training, the potential employers need
to be involved. Periodic visits by the potential employers to the
institutions, and by the blind trainees to the enterprises, might facilitate
adjustment of the blind in the world of work.
The national authorities have a challenging task to perform in
rehabilitating the blind in the world of work, given the prevailing
reluctance of the employers to employ blind workers (Chapter 8).
Government legislation coupled with persuasion might change the attitudes
of the employers. Such legislation would require an enterprise with a
given number of employees to recruit a certain percentage of blind workers.
Another way to create employment would be to follow the example of the
National Industries for the Blind, in the U.S.A.(1), which is a non-profit
making corporation established by law to create gainful employment for
the blind. The idea behind it is the 'ready market' for the products
manufactured by the blind (of course controlled for quality, finish and
durability). Under the Javits-Wagmer-O'Day Act of 1971, goods and services
needed by government departments, and which can be manufactured by the blind,
have to be purchased from the workshops for the blind. A Committee on
Purchase of Blind-made Products was set up by the U.S. President to monitor
the implementation of the law. At present the Board employs 5,000 trained
blind workers in over a hundred plants spread throughout the country.
(1) H.J.M. Desai, ibid.
- 103 -
This serves as an example to be followed by the developing countries
like India, and also states like West Bengal, where money is often wasted
in providing training for the blind which cannot be used on the job.
A network of workshops and training centres set up to produce the goods
and services to be sold in the 'ready market' could provide not only
more relevant training but gainful employment as well. Such workshops
and training centres could be set up in or around the existing training
institutions staffed by professionally qualified people to impart the
necessary training with a human touch and to control the quality of the
products and services.
Our study demonstrates that stop-gap jobs not only promote
employment but also they are more related to the employment that a trained
worker ends up with (Chapter 5)~. -This would imply promotion of such
pre-employment programmes.
Rehabilitation programmes at the state-level leave much to be
desired. The Special Employment Exchange Office has to be strengthened
in order to perform its role properly. The fact that rather than the
competence of the blind person, the 'persuasion' of the rehabilitation
officer is the most important means for getting a job, is the result of
the lack of an employment policy for the blind. Also, the work of the
different rehabilitation agencies needs proper co-ordination to avoid
duplication and overlapping of efforts.
Placement officers should be appointed to develop self-employment,
employment in small-scale and cottage industries, in agriculture and
animal husbandry. It has been observed that training in agriculture and
animal husbandry is increasingly popular with the blind (Chapter 4) and
most of the self-employed have set up farms (Chapter 6). It is also
observed that the government has not been doing enough in providing
financial support for self-employment of the blind (Chapter 6). Facilities
for loans on easy terms should be increased for blind people intending to
cake up self-employment. For employment of blind women, female placement
officers should be recruited at the state-level.
To improve upon the working environment (Chapter 6), hostels
for the employed blind should be set up, and in the wórk-place special
facilities, including recreation facilities suited to the blind, should be
provided.
- 104 -
Provision of education and gainful employment opportunities
is the only way to improve upon the social status of the blind.
Appendix A
STATISTICAL TABLES
- 106
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«•• га
в О
«
'S
о «
years
î ©
F=l
s~» es
со 1 «n
«л es 1 CS
•«3-
« > о ев dg CS ï-4
v>
oo ©
ел
es síes
• es
CO
V©
CS es
а _ *3 О
U
H
v©
es oo со oo
es
- 107 -
Table X - 2 Residence region
Count
Row % Co! % Toi %
Values of Factor 2 =
X Ï8
0{No)
•
Registration with
employment exchange
î(Yes)
•
Total
Values of factor 2
0
(Rural)
52
57.8
45.0
26.0
61
45.9
56.0
29.1
113
52 Л
1 (Urban)
35
40.2
33.7
16.1
69
53.1
66.3
31.8
104
47.9
Total
87
тл
Î30
59.9
2Î7
100.0
Chi-sQuare =a 3.44680 with Ï degree of freedom
Significance level = 0.06337
- 108 -
Table Д - 3 Waiting periods in years
Count Row % 1 : Co! % Tot %
Duration of respondents education. in years
" '
1 : Ï- 5 yrs
2 : 6-10 yrs
3 : П - 1 5 угз 4 : 16-20 угз 5 : 21-25 угз 6 l 26-30 yrs
Column Total
0 -2 yrs
!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
2 : 3-
1.
3 50.0 6.8 3.8 ГЗ
50.0 29.5 16.7 16
57.1 36.4 20.5
9 75,0 20.5 11.5
1 33.3 2.3 1.3 2
66.7 4 , 5 ' " 2.6
44 56 .4
-5 yrs
2.
0 oeo 0.0 0.0
7 26.9 . 5 . 0 ?e0 ?
32.1 45 .0
,. 11,5
% 16 .7 10 .0 2.6 2
66.7 10 .0 2.6 0 0,0 0.0 0.0
20 25.6
'3 : 6 yrs & • above 3.
3 5 0 . 0 21.4 3.8
6 23.1 42.9 7 .7 .
3 . 1 0 . 7 21 .4 • 3.8 1
8.3 7,1 1*3
0 0.0 0,0 0.0
1 33.3 7.1 1.3
14 17.9
; ' Row total
6 . 7 . 7
26 33.3
28 35.9 &
12 15.4
3 3„8
3 3.8
78 100.0
Chi^quare = 12.62587 with 10 degrees of freed3m, Significance = 0.2453, N u m b e r of missing observations = 147
- 109 -
Table A-4a Treatment from family after employment
Count " Values of Factor 2
Row % Col %
Values of Factor 1 I 2 3 Total
Before employment 1
17 Not favourable 2
2: Indifferent
3 : Favourable
- 0
0.0
0.0
0
0.0
0.0
1
Ï.8
100.0
1
14.3
5.9
16
36.4
94.1
0
0.0
0.0
6
85.7
6.7
28
63.6
31.5
55
98.2
61.8
7 * 6.5
44
41 Л
56
52.3
Total 1 17 89 107
0.9 15.9 83.2 100.0
Chi-squara =a 24.97786 with . 4 degrees of freedom, Significance level = 0.00005
- 110 -
Table A - 4 b Treatment from relatives after employment
Count Values of Factor 2
Row % Col %
Values of
Factor I I 2 3 Total
Before employment Ï. 0 I 8 0
0.0 Î1.1 88.9 8.7
0„G 5.3 9.6
2. 0
0.0
0.0
1
3.1
100.0
17
27 A
89.9
I
3.1
5.3
45
72.6
54.2
30
93.8
36.Í
62
60.2
32
31 Л
Total Î 29 83 103
1.0 18.4 80.6 100.0
Cbi-squafe =10 .51782 with 4 degrees of freedom, Significance level
= 0.03255
-Ill -
Table A-4c Treatment from oeighbours after ©ззрЬутеШ
Count Valises of facto? 2 Row % Col %
Values of facior 1 1 2 3 Totfd
Before employment 2
3
33.3
13.0
20
32.3
87.0
6
66.7
7.4
42
67.7
51.9
9
8.7
62
59.6
0 33 33
0 ,0 Ï00.0 31.7
0 .0 40.7
Total
77.9 100,
Chi-scfuare = 13.73089 with 2 degrees of freedom, Signifícanos
= 0.00104
-112 -
ârfors employment 2
Table A-4d Treatment from friends after employment
Count * Values of factor 2
Row % Col %
Values of
Factor 1 1 2 3 Total
0
0.0
0.0
15
30.6
100.0
0
0.0
0,0
2
100.0
2.2
34
65.4
38.2
53
100.0
59.6
2
1.9
49
47.1
53
51.0
Tots! 0 15 89 104
14.4 85.6 100.0
СЫ-square = 19.67439. with 2 degrees of freedom, -Significance level = 0.00005
-113 -
Table A - 5 Marital status
If employed
No
Yes
Column
Total
Count Row % Col % Tot %
0.
1.
Single
1
74
61.3
49.7
32.9
75
56.0
50.3
33.3
149
66.2
Married
2
17
18.7
22 .4
7 .6
59
44.0
77.6
26.2
76
33.8
R o w total
91
40 .4
134
59.6
225
100.0 -tf •
Corrected Chi-square = 14.45544 with i degres of freedom. Significance = 0 e
R o w Chi-square = 13.56807 with 1 degree of freedom. Significance = : О*
-114 -
SET-UP (attitude of the society towards the blind, availability of preventive and curative measures, etc.)
EMPLOYMENT MARKET (employers' attitudes, lnformatioo mechanism, operation of the
employment system)
expectations /Occupational
Diagram 1. Conceptual framework of the research.
-115 -
'О
APPENDIX В
for Traîne
A L L INFORMATION WILL BE TREATED WITH STRICT CONFIDENCE
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION ASHRAMA NARENDRAPUR, 24-PARGANAS
WEST BENGAL, INDIA
RESEARCH PROJECT ON 'EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OP THE BLIND: THB WEST BENGAL EXPERIENCE'
IN COLLABORATION WITH INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL PLANNING (UNESCO) PARIS
Questionnaire for Employed/Employable bliod persons
(a) Respondent's N a m e ,
(b) Address: Permanent.
о О
Presset.
, Rural • Urban •
.Rural • Urban Q
- 116 -
A g e .
2 . (a) Father's/Guardian'в N a m e
(b) Occupation. . e . * .
(c) Average Family Income (monthly)
Less than R s . Í00 •
Rs . 100-Rs. 199 Q
Rs . 200-Rs. 349 •
R s . 350-Rs, 499 ' Q
Rs. 500-Rs. 749 Q
R s . 750-Rs. 999 •
R s . 1000 and above Q
(d) (i) Parent's Education
Sex: Male •
Female •
i's N a m e ,
Cast© : Scheduled caste Q
Scheduled tribe Q
Others •
N o education
Upto Class IV
Upio Class VIII
Upto Class X
Upto Class XII (Higher
Graduate
Post-graduate
Father
D D D D
Secondary Level) •
D •
Moil
D D D a
a D D
(ii) Highest academic attainment ia the family«
(e) N o . of children . . . . . . . . . . .
(0 N o . of biind persons in the family, if any.
Relation with the respondent. • • . •
117 -
3 . . (a) Type of blindness Congenital • Q
Adventitious •
(b) Extent of blindness Total •
Perception of light •
• Residual vision •
(c) W h e n did you become blind? A g e .
(d) Causa of blindness Occuiar disease
General disease
Degeneration
Accident
Others
(e) Nature of treatment received
Allopathy
Homoeopathy
indigenous
Witchcraft
Others (specify)
N o treatment
. .
• D D D D
D D D D D D
In case of aduit blind, qualification and experience before becoming blind
(a) (i) Academic „ . . „ „ . .
(ii) Professional/Vocational. „
(b) If employed, (i) nature of job. * „ . „ , . . „
(ii) average monthly income . . „ . „ .
(a) (i) Sources of information of education for the blind
Friends, parents, relatives •
Doctors П
- 118 -
5.
Staff of educational institutions •
Other students •
General information sources
(books, newspapers» radio, etc.) •
(ii) The information was adequate •
inadequate Q
(b) Details regarding education
Institution attended
Course taken1 Duration Grade
obtained Course
selected bys
Your remark about the
cmirse^
1. Mention the appropriate Code No(s) from Appendix-A ?
2 . Mention whether by self, guardian, institution, others (specify). 3. Write satisfactory or not satisfactory. If the answer be not satisfactory*
state the reasons e . . . . . . .
- 119 -
(с) Wha t mads you ригшэ education?
Desired study for its o w n sake D
Better employment opportunities D
T o pîeass íh© parents •
Others (spaeify) D
Pre-employment programmes/facilities- you received and their adequacy
* Adequacy
Counselling and guidanc© • •
Orientation in actual job situation D Q
Extension lectures by—(i) Rehabilitation councellor • •
(ii) Employers . D D
(Hi) Labour leaders D D
In-plant training/Apprenticeship Q D
Other facilities (specify) , D D
*Put "%/'* ^o r adequate and es X " for inadequate.
(a) (i) Were/Are you registered with the Special Employment
Exchange?
Yes П No D
(ii) If 'yes', date of registration. „
(iii) H o w m a n y calls you have received? „
(b) H o w long did you wait after training to get first regular employment? . . . . „
(c) (i) Nature of your stop-gap job, if any „
(ii) Your monthly remuneration from that job
(d) W a s your stop-gap job related to your training?
Yes • No D
(©) Ь your present empîoymeai, if any, related to the stop-gap job?
D No D
- 120 -
No •
If 'yes', please state
(i) Type of employment
(11) Nature of the firm
Opea employment
Self employment
Public sector
Autonomous body
Private sector
Permanent
Temporary
D D D D D D D
(iii) Your job is
(iv) Nature of your job is Professional, technical asid related Q
Administrative and managerial •
Clerical and related •
Sales workers Q
Service workers •
Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fishery and Forestry •
Production and related •
If self-employed, describe the nature of the job. e
(v) Your job belongs to the category of
Skilled •
Semi-skilled П
Unskilled D
(vi) B a ! @ of joining. . . . . Length of Service.
- 121 -
(vii) Monthly income (for op®n employed only) • •-. -'• '•
At the time of joining Q
At present О • ;
(b) (viii) Y o u obtained the job through
Employment exchange •
Newspaper advertisement •
Letter of recommendation • Persuasion by (i) self • .
(ii) institution •
(iii) parents, relatives, friends Q
Other (specify) Q
(ix) T o what extent has your education been useful in getting $h® employment?
Essentia! •
Useful •
Partially useful •
- Not useful •
(x) H o w important do you consider the following factors in securing a job for a blind person?
Very important Important Unimportant Educational
qualifications • D " D
Interview О D О
Pasé experience in a similar type of Job • Q •
Letters of recommendation • Q G
Pursuasion • D O
Others (specify)
D D D
- 122 -
W h a t is the m i n i m u m qualification and experience for your
job?
W h a t is the next higher position in your case?
Starting salary in that position
H o w can you attain that position?
N o prospect Q
Seniority •
Further training •
Other теапз (specify)
In case of 'further training* describe the nature of training required
Is your job related to the training you received?
Yes • No Q
If 'no ' , what kind of training is most suited to your job?
« o o o e e » d о в е О © � e
Are you satisfied with your job?
Yes
No
Indifferent
D D D
- 123 -
(svi) Is the salary commeosuraîa
with your duty? Yes • N o •
with your training? Yes • N o •
(xvii) îs any other blind person working in your concern?
< Yes • No •
If *Yes\ state the number .
(xviii) Opinion about your position in the concern compared to
that position of the sighted (with equivalent qualification
and experience)
Better • More or less same • Worse •
(xix) Attitude of (i) sighted workers towards you
Compassionate
Comrade-like
Indifferent
DeDigrating
(ii) Employer
Favourable
Not favourable
Indifferent
D D l
D D
D D D
(xx) Differential treatment on the whole before and after e m
ployment
Before employment After employment
Family • •
Relatives • •
Neighbours Q •
Friends D D
(Write «A* for favourable, г В* for indifferent, ' C for not favourable)
(xxi) Are you a member of any Trade Union? Yes П N o •
- 124 -
If 'yes*, arc you an offlcc-bsarer of the said Union?
Yes O No D
(ixii) Distanca between píacs of residence and place of employ
ment
M o d e of travel
Bus • Train • Rickshaw • O n foot П
Others (specify) •
During journey, the attitude of со-travellers?
Appreciative Q Indiffèrent • Hostil© •
8. (с) Is ths present employment the first one?
Yes D No- П
If 'no', state in respact of the immediately proceeding employment
(i) Type of employment
Open employment • Self-employment • Sub-contract •
(ii) Nature of job
A . Professional» technical and related Q
B . Administrative and managerial •
C . Clerical and related . •
D . Sales workers •
E . Service workers П
F . Agriculture, Animal Kusbandryp
Fishery and Forestry •
G . Production and related •
(iii) Your job belonged to the category Skilled Q
Semi-ski Sled •
Unskilled •
- 125 -
(iv) Length of servie©. ... , • • • . . !
(v) Monthly income at the time of joining
at the time of leaving
(vi) M o d e of getting employment
Employment exchange •
Newspaper advertisement •
Letter of 'recommendation •
Pursuasion by (i) self " •
(ii) institution •
(iii) parents, relatives, friends •
Other ( specify) . . . . . . . . . •
(vii) W a s the job related to the training you received?
Yes • N o • • •
(viii) W a s any other blind person working in the concern?
Yes • No Q
if 'yes', state the number . .
(ix) Reasons for your changing the job
Higher salary ' Q
Difficult working condition Q
Personal disagreements Q
Lack of prospects •
Position incompatible with qualifications •
Transport difficulties •
Lost job •
Others (̂ specify) . . , , . . •
- 126 -
•.-{£). ". T o what extent, tixs experience giioed i&th© job has been useful for the present employment?
Essential Q Useful П Partially useful Q
Not useful •
ïn case of self-employment (besides the relevant times in 8)
(a) Independent work • Joint venture •
In case of joint venture, state
(i) if any of the partners is blind?
Yes • • No О
(ii) if a n y of the partners is otherwise handicapped
Yes • No •
(b) Wba t factors made you take up self-employment?
(i) non-availability of employment •
(ii) working conditions are better in self-employment •
(iii) availability of capital •
(iv) landed property •
(v) others (specify) Q
(c) Source of capital invested
(i) Family П
(ft) • Relatives •
(iii) Friends •
(iv) Government •
(v) Bank •
(vi) Voluntary Organization Q
(vii) Others (specify) . . . . . . . . . . •
(d) Wî}d chose the profession?
<e) (i) Your monthly income at the start. . . . . . and . at present
- 127 -
(ii) is casa of joint venture» total ansraal iscome of th©
enterpris©. . . . . .and your shaf©. e
(Г) Nalura of management
Self • Joint • Others p i
(g) H o w do you publicize your services/producis? „ .
(h) Is your family involved in your work?
Yes • No • If 'yes*, in what way? . _ _ . . . .
10. A n y other source of additional income
Landed property •
House rent •
Part-tim© job •
Others (specify). .. . . •
Monthly income from this source . „ . „ „ .
1 1 . F o r u n e m p l o y e d persons
(a) Y^hat, in your opinion, is the cause of your unemployment?
(i) Lack of overall job opportunity •
(ii) L a c k of proper information o n job availability •
(iii) Inadequacy of educational qualiñcations •
(iv) L a c k of institutional effort •
(v) N o n e to push you •
(vi) Employers' indifferent attitude •
(vii) Family does not allow to take up a job •
(viii) any other (state) •
(b) W h a t capabilities (you think) you have to demand aa employment?
- 128 -
12.
(с) What kind of additional training, you think, would help you to get a job?
(d) W h y are you not self-employed?
(i) dearth of capital •
(ii) lack of family support •
(iii) want of proper information foe self-employment •
(iv) any other (state) •
(e) W h o bears the expenses for your maintenance at present?
For All
(a) (i) Marital status: Single
Married
Divorced
Wido>y/Widower
(ii) Marriage : Negotiation through:
family
friends
relatives
organizations
marriage counsel bureau
• • • •
• • • • • •
or through mutual engagement •
(iii) Date of marriage. . . . . . .
(iv) Is your wife/husband blind?
Yes • No О (Y) Number of children e
(vi) Is any of the children blind?
Yes • No • If cyes\ state the number . . . ,
- 129 -
(vii) D o you think marriage enhanced your social prestige?
Yes • No •
(viii) If single, do you intend to marry?
Yes • No •
(ix) If'no', state reasons,
(i) Are you associated with any club?
Yes • No •
(ii) Wha t are the means of your recreation/hobby? . . . .
(iii) H o w do you generally get different nsws/information?
Radio •
TV •
Newspapers •
Friends •
Others (specify). . . . Q
(iv) Are you conscious about different social practices? (like
family welfare planning, community medical service, non-
formal education, educational, cultural and social programmes
for the blind, different insurances).
Yes • No •
(v) D o you know that the year 1981 is being observed as the
International Year of Disabled Persons?
Yes • No •
Your opinion about its usefulness
D o you think that you are on equal footiDg with other members of
your family?
- 130 -
Yes • No •
If no, what is your suggestion to improve the relation?
13. Give your specific suggestions regarding
anthropic societies, Institute of training
for placement of blind persons:
the Government, phi!«,
relatives can do better
Government Philanthropic societies Institute of training Relatives
- 131 -
APPBNDIX 1
LÏST O F COURSES O F F E R E D
A C A D E M I C
Ы Upto Class ÏV 1.2 Upto Class VIII Î.3 Upto Class X IA Upto Class XII .1.5 Graduation 1.6 Post-graduation
Music (Junior Diploma Course of the Rabindra Bharati University)
2.1 Vocal 2.2 ÏDstrumental 2.3 Percussion
T E C H N I C A L T R A I N I N G
3.1 Light Engineering 3.1.1 Fitting Shop Trade—Filing, Sawing, Drilling,
Threading with Tap and Die.
3. Î. 2 Machine Shop Trade—Latho, Capstan, Ball Press, Power Press9 Shearing, Power Hack Saw.'
3.2 Production Based Industrial Training 3.2.1 Machine Shop Trade—Latho, Capstan, Shaping,
Drilling, Power Hack Saw.
3.2.2 W o o d Working Trade—Sawing, Planing,, Different types of Joints, W o o d turning.
3.2.3 Electrical Trade—Series and Parallel Connections, Switch, Fuse, Tube Lamps, Heater, Iron, House Wiring, etc.
- 132 -
4. AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 4 . i Agriculture—Land preparing, transplantation, sowing,
manuring, mulching, wooding, spraying, insecticide» pesticide, identifying diseases, etc.
4 .2 Animal Husbandry—Cow keeping, Poultry keeping, Goat keeping and Sheep keeping.
5. CRAFTS
5. i Caning—chair, morah. 5.3 Coir Mat
5.2 Basket-making -5 .4 Brush, etc.
6. WEAVING
6.1 Handloom
6.2 Power L o o m
7. KNITTING AND SEWING
8. BOOK BINDING
9. ENVELOPE MAKING
10. A N Y O T H E R (specify here):
- 133 -
APPENDIX С
uestionnaire for Employers
RAMAKR1SHNA MISSION ASHRAMA NARENDRAPUR, 24-PARGANAS
WEST BENGAL
SCHEDULE FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EMPLOYING A G E N C Y
1 N a m e of the respondent
2 N a m e of the organization ¿
3 Nature of the undertaking Public • Joint sector •
Autonomous • Corporate •
Private • Statutory •
4 Area of production
5 Total number of employees .
6 Total number of blind/visualîy handicapped
7 Job performance
(a) Quantum/quality of job done by the blind employee (in compari
son with other worker)
Quantum Quality Time
Higher/Average/Lower Good/Fair/indifferent Speedy/Average/Slow
- 134 -
(b) Quality of the worker
Mobility Punctuality Understanding
Good/Fair/Indifferent Good/Fair/Indifferent Good/Fair/Indifferent
Deportment Relation with Behaviour
Co-workers
Good/F&ir/indifferent Good /Fa u^adiffereni Good/FairAndifierenfc
8 Please comment on the future prospect of the blind employee
9 (a) Necessity of further training
(b) Possibility of participation of the blind in Trade Union .
10 In your concern, what kind of job, according to you, are suitable
for the blind?
11 Are you willing to appoint more blind workers?
Yes • No Q
12 (a) In your opinion what problems the blind workers face? .
. _ 135 -
(b) Wha t problems do you usually face with the blind employees?
»
13 What are the steps that should be undertaken to minimize the
problems?
- 136 -
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1) Barraga, N.C., Visual Handicaps and Learning, Wordsworth Publishing Co., California, 1976.
(2) Batra, Sushma, Social Integration of the Blind, Concept Publishing Co., New Delhi, 1981.
(3) Bourgeault, S.E., Integrated Education for Blind Children, American Foundation for Overseas Blind, New York,
(4) Desai, H.J.M., Planning Employment Services for the Blind in Developing
Countries, World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, Paris, 1981.
(5) Haider, R.M., Visually Handicapped in India, W. Thacker, London, 1948.
(6) M'Bow, Amadou Mahtar, Speech to the World Conference on Actions and Strategies for Education, Prevention and Integration, Malaga, Spain, 1981.
(7) Roy, S.C., The Blind in India and Abroad, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1944.
(8) Rajhi, Mohammed,et. al., Planning Basic Rehabilitation Programmes for the Visually Handicapped in Developing Countries, World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, Paris, 1979.
(9) Sanyal, Bikas C , Higher Education and Employment : Some Aspects of the H E P Research Project, HEP Occasional Papers Series No. 62, Paris, 1981.
(10) Unesco, Final Report of the World Conference on Actions and Strategies for Education, Prevention and Integration held in Malaga, Spain, Unesco Press, Paris, 1982.