Kalasalingam Univ offers B Tech for deaf people

Chennai, Dec 17: Kalasalingam University will launch a six year Integrated B Tech programme for the Hearing Impaired from the coming academic year, with an intake of 120 students.

Talking to reporters to announce the grant of University status to Kalasalingam College of Engineering, Krishnankoil, by the UGC, University Chancellor T Kalasalingam and Vice-Chancellor C Thangaraj said this was for the first time that a University was offering such an integrated course in India for the benefit of hearing impaired students.

They said passing grades in tenth standard would be sufficient for the students to apply for the course and they would be admitted after an entrance test.

The students could opt for any of the branches like Computer Science and IT, Mechanical and Civil engineering.

The course would cost Rs 45,000 per year (Rs 2.70 lakh for six years), and would be offered in three modules - preparatory module in the first two years covering Plus Two level, foundation module covering diploma level and advance module in selected branch of study.

''The students can choose their branch and the University will provide 100 per cent merit and scholarship to 30 students and 50 per cent concession to another 30 students,'' Mr Kalasalingam added.

On the rationale behind launching this new programme, he said about 10,000 to 15,000 hearing impaired students get admitted every year at an early age, of which only 700 to 800 come up to the tenth standard level. Only few schools offer these students higher secondary education, and that too without science stream, he added.

About 75 hearing impaired schools in the state had been asked to send their top three students for the course.

From next year onwards the course would be opened for hearing impaired students across the country by giving them training in their mother tongue for the first two years, before shifting to English medium.

Mr Kalasalingam said the University would adopt the IIT module of education system and would introduce grading system from 2007-08.

He also announced introduction of three year B Tech programme from 2007-08 for B Sc graduates, with an intake of 60 students.

UNI