300 register for disabled quota,not many girls

University officials say the disparate ratio calls for more action from the university,which needs to reach out to school-leaving students with disabilities.

“It is an unfortunate figure. This means that we have to reach out more to schools to understand what is preventing girl students from applying,and take remedial measures,” said Dr Bipin Kumar Tiwary,Deputy Dean for Students’ Welfare who also heads the Equal Opportunity Cell.

Experts point towards the lack of awareness among parents and safety concerns,especially when it comes to visually impaired students who form a majority of applicants.

“Girl students with no disabilities face harassment of all forms on the roads. With daughters who suffer from disabilities parents often are reluctant as they fear for their safety and know that they can’t always accompany them to college. Travelling is a prime issue. University roads are hardly disabled-friendly and most of the time people forget to come to the assistance of students with disabilities,” said Dr Sushma Batra,Head of School of Social Work who trains students in social work among persons with disabilities.

The university should look at measures like a mentoring system for students with disabilities to help familiarise the new students with the campus and to make its roads safer,she said.

“We are aware of issues related to accommodation and are trying to figure out what can be done to address the problem,” said Dr Tiwary.

Reena Bhatia of National Association for Blind says the problem has deeper roots.

“A nation-wide survey we did showed that when it comes to special schools for visually impaired,the number of schools for boys was three times that of for girls. The skewed ratio starts at the school level,” she said.

This year,1,586 students with disabilities cleared the CBSE Class XII exams. Out of the 46 disabled students who had scored 90 per cent and above,17 were girls.