Students with disabilities to get assistance from ‘writers’
A Government Resolution (GR) issued on January 7, 2016, stipulates the facility of student writers, and in their absence, adult writers to such students appearing in their secondary and higher secondary exams.
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THE MAHARASHTRA government informed the Bombay High Court Monday that students with learning disabilities will get assisting writers during school examinations. The state also informed that there are 41,795 students suffering from learning disability across the state.
A Government Resolution (GR) issued on January 7, 2016, stipulates the facility of student writers, and in their absence, adult writers to such students appearing in their secondary and higher secondary exams.
The government also informed Justices V M Kanade and A K Menon that “learning disability centres” have started functioning in five districts – Dhule, Nanded, Chandarpur, Kolhapur and Miraj on January 30, 2016.
Appearing for the government, Advocate Geeta Shastri assured that such centers would be started soon in other districts. A data sheet handed over by Shastri shows the 41,795 students suffering with learning disability are between the age-group 15-16 years.
“The numbers indicate that in areas like Mumbai district, Pune and Mumbai Mahanagar Palika, large number of students have been identified with learning disability. Government should have more than one learning disability centre,” the court observed.
In Mumbai alone, the data shows, there are 6,524 students suffering from learning disability. Taking note of the numbers, the HC directed the government to fill up the post of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in centers across 36 districts in the state after having framed a budgetary allocation. Of the centers in 21 districts that are under the Public Health Department, the state proposes to start the facility “shortly”. However, in the remaining 11 districts, the centers will be set up within six months, depending on the appointments.
The directions came about on a suo motu (on its own) petition after city-based psychiatrists Dr Harish Shetty and Dr Sanghnaik Meshram wrote a letter to the court raising concerns over the decision of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Pune for withdrawing the facility of a “writer” for students with special needs days before their secondary and higher secondary exams were to begin last year.
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