Visually impaired teachers will provide distance education to visually impaired students to prepare them for the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS) with a new application, starting from Oct 15.
Members and teachers of the Association of Visually Impaired in Education (EGED) said they will prepare students for the YKS exam through collective teaching classes in an online environment.
The new application available on computers, tablets and smartphones will provide students that are visually impaired with the opportunity to continue their education in special environments along with resources that they may require.
The application that is free of charge will be accessible to students at any given time, giving them access to a wide range of resources. Emre Taşgın, head of EGED and a social studies teacher who was born blind, said that recent developments in technology have lifted any potential barriers to education.
In recent years, EGED's program led 20 students to enroll in different courses at universities across the country. However, the new program that is available online will reach more students.
"Classes will take place at night. Our teachers are all volunteers that have visual impairments. Our teachers have experience in their field, have gone through pedagogical formation and practiced within their fields. We have 20 teachers for our classes. We provide literature, Turkish, mathematics, history, geography, philosophy, physics, chemistry and biology lectures," he said.
In addition to providing education and resources, Taşgın said they will also be providing students with psychological support during exam periods.
In the past decade, Turkey saw a major overhaul of its education system, from more online access for schools to the landmark FATİH project where students were handed tablet computers with the aim of reducing the number of overcrowded classrooms.
