Come Visit The Technical Training Institute

Nestled in the middle of the lovely NAB campus is the TTI (the Technical Training Institute), which is home to 20 extremely hardworking students. To take superior quality photographs I invited my photographer friend, Saatvika Mangharam to come along with me. This was her first visit to NAB. By the end of our visit, she was in awe of the place and people.

TTI Laboratory

TTI Classroom

Led by Training Officer, Naseer Humayun, who has been a dedicated teacher for 25 years at NAB, these boys study Basic General Mechanic (Fitter's Trade), Injection Moulding and Electronics and later work in companies like BEML, GTRE, NAL and BEL. To be eligible, students have to have studied at least till Std. 8, speak English and comfortable with contract Braille.

Mr. Naseer sharing the TTI brochure with Amreen and me

Regular braille consists of raised characters denoting each alphabet which are strung together to produce words and sentences like in any other language.

Braille Kannada Alphabets

Braille English Alphabets

A student reading a Braille textbook

Contract Braille are specialized abbreviations. For example, there is one braille cell for th, and another one for in. In braille, think is 3 characters, th, in, and the letter k. The use of these abbreviations follows pronunciations and allows the writer to write faster and it also makes reading quicker. Mr. Naseer called one of his students to give us a quick demonstration.

The student listening carefully and writing contract braille as fast as lightning

Then he took us around the training room where the students have their practical lessons. Intimidated by the complex machinery, I immediately enquired about the safety precautions taken. Mr. Naseer reassured me that it is only after detailed training and thorough briefings that the students allowed near the machines. 'We teach them through theory first and we take them through the structure of the machines through these books with raised diagrams just like braille. They learn and function like regular students; only their method of learning is tactile. And they're smart boys. They know how to adjust and take care of themselves.'

A theory book illustrating parts of a machine

He was absolutely right. Saatvika and I watched in amazement as these students worked diligently. They smiled shyly as we observed them.

They make an array of machine parts

They also make disposable plates and bowls

These are made from supari (areca) leaves

They also have a paper recycling unit from which greetings cards are made

As in all departments at NAB, the TTI education is completely free of cost. The students even get a small monthly stipend and as Mr. Naseer says, 'live like a Mysore maharaja'. All graduates of this programme have been employed. These students belong to the the 27th and 28th batch of the TTI.

The programme is an intensive 2 year experience, at the end of which the students have to pass an exam conducted and controlled by the Government of Karnataka, Department of Technical Training Board.

If you'd like to help these students, here are some ways you can help them:

1. Donate braille paper

2. Donate machine and raw material used in their training

3. Pay for a day's meals - Rs. 3,500

4. Buy the things that they make - disposable plates, cups, bowls, recycled, greeting cards and tools

5. Employ them at your company

To get in touch with the Technical Training Institute, NAB Karnataka you can visit www.nabkarnataka.org, call +91 80 2528 1590 or email nabkarnataka@yahoo.co.in