PETALING JAYA: Being a visually impaired teacher in charge of guiding visually handicapped children is already a major challenge.
Having to conduct classes online thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic takes it to a whole new level. But Nurul Bazliah Fakhrul Razi, 43, takes it in her stride.
As she pointed out, access to books in Braille were no longer available once schools were closed.
The only option is online learning. But unlike their sighted schoolmates, visually impaired students have to depend on sounds to learn.
Nurul Bazliah’s answer is to get the parents involved.
“Parents have a big role to play in helping the children cope with the challenges of online learning,” she told theSun.
It also helps that every one of her students are well equipped with a laptop screen reader and smartphones.
Nurul Bazliah’s classes are conducted on Google Meet. She begins her day by preparing teaching materials but unlike most teachers, the dismissal bell does not spell the end of the day for her.
She would call each and every student to discuss their progress. She also sends them videos of herself teaching so her students can listen to her lectures.
Nurul Bazliah credits her elder daughter, 10-year-old Nurul Zienyrah, for her success.
“She acts as the family’s eyes. She is the one who records the videos of my classes for my students,” she said. Both her children have normal eyesight but her husband, Mohd Kalam Mazad Abd Rahman, 43, is also visually impaired.
Despite his special needs, Mohd Kalam is a high achiever. He lost his sight in an accident when he was in his 20s but went on to graduate with a Masters degree at Universiti Malaya. He is now a civil servant.
Nurul Bazliah said both sets of parents had doubts that two visually impaired persons could lead a normal life together, but “we have proven them wrong”.
To travel, they depend largely on taxis and e-hailing services, but they have also bought a car for the rare occasions when they need to go somewhere in a hurry.
“In situations like that, we get someone to drive us around,” she said.
Nurul Bazliah started to lose her sight when she was in secondary school. Years of medical consultation and treatment and trips to Kedah and Kelantan to seek traditional cures did not help.
“I’ve had many bizarre treatments, like having lime juice and the blood of clams squeezed into my eyes,” she said.
She even underwent “spiritual surgery”.
“At school, my teachers didn’t understand what I was going through,” she recalled.
“Once, a teacher threw a book at me. I failed every exam but with the help of close friends and some teachers as well as my parents, I managed to pass SPM and continued as an accounting student, following in my father’s footsteps.”
She subsequently switched to public administration, in which she excelled.
Nurul Bazliah said she was eventually certified as a disabled person and that drove her to help parents recognise special needs in their children.
