Dear Friends,
In keeping with my habit of sharing everything with accessindia I am copying
below a letter received from CCPD. I suggest that everyone who is interested in
this matter should read and keep these 3 emails and send me your comments only
after you receive my final draft policy. Kanchan
Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India
Case No.3929/2007
Dated: 31st January, 2008
Dispatch No.: 427
Shri Gopal Sisodia
Vs.
State Bank of India & anrs.
To,
AS PER LIST ATTACHED
Sir,
You may be aware that Section 30 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995
casts responsibility on appropriate government and local authority to make all
necessary facilities available to persons with disabilities in the matter of
education. These include providing of scribe and aids & appliances to visually
and physically challenged persons. However, different authorities have adopted
different approach in providing such facilities which is leading to a lot of
inconvenience to the persons with disabilities and placing them at
disadvantageous position in crucial examination.
2.. A meeting to discuss the existing difficulties and arriving at final
recommendation for a policy on written examination for visually impaired and
other PH candidate is scheduled on 19th February, 2008 at 11.00 O’clock at the
Instituted of Physically Handicapped, Conference Hall, of Pt. Deen Upadhayaya,
I.P.H., Vishnu Digamber Marg, New Delhi – 110002. It is requested to kindly
make it convenient to attend the meeting/deputy a representative for attending
the meeting.
3.. A short note on the current provision, existing difficulties and points
for discussion is enclosed. A draft of the policy will be circulated shortly.
4.. The organizations are requested to bear TA/DA for their participants.
Yours faithfully,
(Sunita Singh)
Dy. Chief Commissioner
Encls: as above
1.. The Chairman, Railway Board, Rail Bhawan, New Delhi.
2.. The Secretary, Banking Division, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi.
3.. The Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training, Govt. of India, North
Block New Delhi -110001.
4.. The Chairperson, National Trust, 9th Floor, Jeevan Prakash building, K.
G. Marg, New Delhi -110 001.
5.. The Secretary, University Grants Commission, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New
Delhi.
6.. The Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan
Road, New Delhi.
7.. Mr. Bhaskar Yogendra Mehta, Commissioner, Disabilities, Office of the
Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Gujarat, Block No.16,
Ground Floor, Dr. Jivaraj Maheta Bhavan, Gandhinagar - 382010.
8.. The Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education, I. P. Estate,
New Delhi 110002.
9.. The Director General, Directorate General of Employment & Training, Sharm
Shakti Bhawn, Rafi Marg, New Delhi -110001.
10.. The Chairman, Public Enterprises Selection Board, Department of
Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension,
Govt. of India, New Delhi.
11.. The Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New
Delhi.
12.. The Chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education, 2, Community Centre,
Preet Vihar, Delhi-110092.
13.. The Joint Secretary, Department of Secondary & Higher Education,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, Shastri Bhawan, New
Delhi -1.
14.. The Director, National Institute for Visually Handicapped, 116 Rajpur
Road, Uttaranchal.
15.. The Director, DD-III, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, New
Delhi.
16.. The Director, IPH, 4, Vishnu Digamber Marg, New Delhi -110002.
17.. National Association for the Blind, Department of Employment, 2nd floor,
11/12, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road, Worli Seaface, Mumbai 400025.
18.. Shri Gopal Sisodia, General Secretary, Indian Association of the Blind,
154/C, Delhi Administration Flats, Sindhoran Kalan, Delhi-110052.
19.. Shri. S. K. Rungta, 164, Lawyers Chambers, Delhi High Court, Delhi.
20.. Ms. Kanchan Pamnani, 24 Blue Haven, Mount Peasant Road, Mumbai 400006.
Points for discussion/decision in the meeting dated 19th February, 2008 at
11.00 O'clock
Sl.
No.
Existing Provisions
Difficulties
Suggested modifications/points for decision
1.
No clear directions as to the categories & sub categories of persons with
disabilities who can avail benefits of scribe
Some agencies are allowing scribe to low vision persons while other expect
them to use magnifying glasses for writing answers and are not providing papers
in larger font size. Similarly OH persons with amputation, persons with
cerebral palsy and others having problems in upper extremities in past have
been allowed scribe
a.. Clear instructions in terms of percentage with disability that will be
allowed scribe in VH
b.. Whether OH & Dyslexic persons can get benefit of scribe
c.. Whether provisions for scribe would be different for competitive
exam and regular school/college exams.
2.
Qualifying marks for scribe - Most of the authorities have taken up the
stand that the scribe should be one grade lower in academic qualification than
the candidate with qualifying marks ranging from 40% to 60%.
Fixing cut of marks for scribe is felt unfair, especially in current
system where the students score very high marks in their secondary and senior
secondary school examination. Hence the. students with 40% or 50% marks are
bound to be weak student academically & may not be able to comprehend esp.
tables & graphs in test of reasoning, mathematical & scientific symbols and
read properly, leading to the wastage of valuable time.
a.. Scribe from higher grade allowed for primary school examination
b.. Scribe should preferably be one grade lower from the same stream.
However this restriction will not apply if Scribe is from other stream.
c.. Whether student in first! second year of graduation will qualify as
one grade lower for final year graduate examination
d.. No criteria of minimum qualifying marks should be imposed as
examining authorities arrange one invigilator for each of the student using
scribe so that the candidate is not in a
3.
Restriction as to when scribe should have passed the exam- like DSSB
conducted exams for grade IV on 9-16th September, 2007 and stipulated that the
scribe should be VIII class and should have obtained the past certificate not
prior to 2006. Thereby, meaning that the scribe should be studying in IX class
at the time of writing the competitive examination.
a.. No Restriction as to when scribe should have passed the qualifying
exam-
4.
Some agencies like UPSC, DSSB allow the disabled candidates to bring their
own scribe while some like SSC insist on providing scribe.
Such a stipulation makes it difficult of finding an appropriate scribe
because the parents of students studying in class IX generally don't allow them
to write the exams on behalf of others. Further, the particular competitive
examination was held in the month of September, when most of the schools were
having half yearly examinations. Hence large number of blind candidates could
not appear as they could not find suitable scribe.
a.. Both options i.e. getting their own scribe/ Provision of by recruiting
agency should be available to candidates for each of the examination.
b.. There should be a panel of identified scribes at
Regional/District/State level that is identified by the examining body as per
the requirements of the examination.
5.
Last moment change of scribe not allowed.
Though the persons with disabilities would prefer to have the option of
getting their own scribe, but at the same time the option for getting a scribe
by the examining authority should be available especially for students who are
staying in a hostel and parents with illiterates.
In case of exigencies chief invigilator or any other appropriate authority
at the site of exam should have discretionary powers for allowing such a change
of scribe.
6.
Use of Personnel Computers for writing exam and getting of examination
papers in electronic format- CBSE and some Universities like Anna Malai have
allowed use of personnel computers with screen reading software to persons with
disabilities and find no problem in permitting the same.
The matter for allowing Personnel computers or providing computers through
recruiting agencies has been taken up with the UPSC, SSC and Banking division
and other such authorities. However, no positive response has been received on
the grounds that as per the existing rules, law no such provisions for allowing
computers in taking the examination.
Information and communication technology has opened up vast opportunities
for persons with disabilities. Continuous reduction in the prices is also
making the technology accessible to many.
a.. The recruiting agencies should set up computer centers that have
screen reading software and suitable hardware.
b.. Till the time such centers are developed they could allow the
personnel computers to the persons with disabilities
c.. Use of scribe may gradually be eliminated.
7.
No special provisions for VI for giving open Book exam
Most Departmental examination have one or two papers are with open books.
For Visually impaired persons apart from providing scribe, no additional
facilities like book in Braille for electronic format is provided. In case he
does not have very strong memory he is bound to perform very poorly in such
examinations (esp. group D & C employees).
a.. the establishment should provide reading material either in Braille or
in e-text (on computers having suitable screen reading software) for open book
examination
Kanchan Pamnani
Advocate & Solicitor
9, Suleman Chambers,
Battery Street, Colaba,
Mumbai - 400 039.
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