The Panjab University (PU) on Monday announced that it will provide free education to blind students from the next academic session. 'This decision has been taken as we want to fulfil our commitment towards the visually impaired students. There would be no tuition fees for the 100 % visually impaired. The university will also provide them free stay and food at subsidised rates in the hostels,' Naval Kishore, dean of students' welfare, told sources on Monday. 'Both new and old students of the university can avail this opportunity. This is probably for the first time in the country that any university has come up with such an initiative.'
In various departments of PU, seats are already reserved for single girl children and for cancer and AIDS patients. 'It is a very generous gesture of the PU towards blind students. Normally there are only a few seats reserved for us in the departments, but free education, food and stay is quite extraordinary,' said Brijesh Thakur, a blind student studying in the PU.
