The University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Friday, July 29, signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Help The Blind Foundation. This was done to offer technologically oriented, employable skills for visually-impaired students enrolled in various courses.

As part of the MoU, a unique skill development training programme, developed based on four pillars of Education, Mobility, Employability and Training (EMET), will be launched soon, stated a report in The New Indian Express.

UoH's Empowered Committee for Differently Abled Persons (ECDAP) will be the nodal implementing agency of the training programmes. It is hoped that the existing infrastructure set up for visually-impaired students on the campus will act as the backbone for the proposed EMET initiative.

The MoU is an expression of interest by a public institution and a private charity to come together to work for students with visual impairment, who have to struggle hard to attain even the minimum levels of college education and skill sets.

Speaking on the occasion, University Vice-Chancellor Prof BJ Rao said: "The paradox of the modern society in the 21st century is that today the technology in our hands is ready to help us be independent, but we are not forthcoming either to help ourselves or help the technology make us to be independent."