MUMBAI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has observed that several schools affiliated to them are not aware of the available exemptions to candidates with disabilities. As per the guidelines issued by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, CBSE has a set of provisions designed for these students, which include the facility of a scribe and use of computers for typing answers.
However, the board has found that neither the school nor the students are aware and hence have decided to update and compile all the exemptions and send it to the schools which shall be applied for the 2019 examinations. The exemptions and concessions are applicable for both class 10 and 12 board examinations.
Some of the new guidelines include – students with disability certificates by listed authority (mentioned in the CBSE official website) will be given a scribe during the exams and if a student wants, they can have more than one scribe. Adding to this, CBSE will be paying the fee of the selected scribe. Earlier, there were only one supervisor but as per the new guidelines, they will have an assistant superintendent too. The visually impaired students will be able to use ‘portable video magnifiers’. Students can get the facility of using a computer for typing the answers only.
Parents of these students are happy with the exemptions announced by the board. A parent said, “It was high time the board takes stand on the unfair things. This will of course reduce the burden of the students and also make them less anxious during exams.”
