Trichy: The Government Higher Secondary School for Blind Girls, Trichy, despite being the only one of its kind in the entire state, has not had a fresh admission in any class for the forthcoming academic year, much to the consternation of its officials and staff. This could have been a positive trend had it been an indication of the falling number of children with blindness — complete or partial — but health department officials and ophthalmologists say there is no concrete evidence to establish it.In fact, the number of fresh admissions has not been quite impressive in the previous years too, with only 15 new students admitted during 2017-18 and a little over 20 during 2016-17. Hence, the total students’ strength was expected to fall for the third consecutive year this year, though not to this level. Headmistress M Tamilselvi said that she had received inquiries from only two parents regarding a possible admission for their children this year. With the schools set to reopen on June 1, the matter has left officials and the teaching staff of the school worried.Preference for private schools over government schools, reluctance among parents to admit their children to a “special school” and a general lack of awareness regarding the schemes offered for partly blind/ blind students, are cited as the reasons for the decrease in admission at the school. Most parents did not want to accept the fact that their child was partly blind/ blind and that the condition might worsen as they aged, said M Tamilselvi. “Though the parents’ wish to give their children a normal upbringing is good, it can have its disadvantages too,” the headmistress told TOI.The practice of parents admitting their children to regular schools when their eyesight is relatively better and enrolling them at ‘special schools’ only when the sight worsens makes students struggle with academics. This was because they are not used to the Braille system, according to the teachers at the blind school. “Only when the students are admitted to blind schools at an early age would they get practice with Braille system. It is very difficult to adapt to the system later,” Tamilselvi said.District differently-abled welfare officer N Swaminathan stated that even when it came to special schools, parents preferred private schools over government schools. “Admission to Government Girls Higher Secondary School for the Blind this year has been a disappointment. I think parents are opting for private schools over our schools. It’s because of the lack of awareness among people about the schemes offered at the government schools,” he said. The Trichy school, apart from offering free education, also had free hostel for the students. Trichy district chief education officer M Ramakrishnan said that he would discuss with the school officials the efforts that can be taken to increase admissions at the school.

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