Tag: students with disabilities

After COVID-19, Open Book Exam Emerges as the Latest Challenge for the Blind

Delhi University’s decision to conduct an online Open Book Examination has left the visually impaired students grappling with issues beyond their control – so much so that several of the 350 final year students might have to forgo the exam.

The Delhi University’s (DU) decision to conduct an Open Book Examination (OBE) for those in their final year has created a sense of panic among the blind and visually impaired students. There are approximately 800 students with vision impairment studying in DU, out of which around 350 will appear for their final exams this year.

The lockdown announcement caught many of these students off guard and they rushed home to stay safe amid the coronavirus scare. Those who couldn’t travel back were stuck in their hostels or temporary accommodation without much support. Already facing difficulties at the hands of the pandemic, the varsity’s announcement made things worse.

Coming from a weak socio-economic background, the majority of visually impaired students are struggling with the new online medium of preparation and assessment, as they have limited or no access to devices (such as laptop/computer, smartphone or scanner), internet and study material.

Watch: Why Visually Impaired Students Are Worried About Online Open Book Exams

Keshav: prospects cruelly curtailed by the lockdown and the open book examination.

So, what does OBE entail? Students stuck in different parts of the country can download the question paper from a web portal and write or key in their answers within the given timeframe. The answer sheets then need to be uploaded on the website for submission. This requires access to a computer and internet connection, and a scanning device or software if they are writing on paper. Visually impaired students either write their exams taking assistance from a scribe or use computers with screen-reading software.

Keshav, a student of Political Science, is back home in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). He could not find a scribe given the social distancing guidelines, so he has decided to key in his answers on the laptop. But frequent power cuts and weak connectivity may impact his performance. Keshav is also concerned about the screen reader accessibility of the DU portal.

He said, ‘’Ideally I would have liked to take a scribe for final semester as it is critical for my future prospects, but finding a scribe amidst the crisis is a challenge and a health risk one has to take. Owing to the circumstances, I will have to make do with whatever little I can do myself.”

Rajni, from Delhi, recently took her foreign language exam and got stuck at the uploading stage because neither she nor her scribe had access to a scanner. “I took my neighbour’s help at the last minute to scan and submit my answer sheets.” All this had to be done within the five hours allotted to blind students to complete their exam.

It is not just the examination which appears to be a challenging task; even the preparation has been difficult. Visually impaired students have not had easy access to study material or online lessons. Many have even been forced to give the exams a miss.

Yogender Singh: hemmed in from all sides.

Hailing from Bihar, Chandan Ranjan stays in a hostel in Gurugram, Haryana. He shared, ‘’Despite repeatedly calling the concerned examination authority’s number in my college, study material was not made available online, nor did the concerned authority attempt to reach out to students like me. We are left unprepared for no fault of ours. I feel we should be promoted on the basis of internal assessments conducted earlier.’’

Yogender Singh is currently with his family in Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh). He lost out on most of the online sessions conducted by his college due to poor connectivity on his smartphone. Underprepared and with no access to computers or scribe, he is worried that he might need to travel back to Delhi amid the rising COVID-19 numbers.

“With the lockdown, my persistence in  pursuing education has also come to a standstill. The uncertainty of the situation has left me unsure about my future aspirations,” despaired Yogender.

However, there are some colleges that have made efforts to help their visually impaired students in whatever way they can. Dr BR Alamelu, Enabling Unit Coordinator of Indraprastha Colllege for Women stated, “Our teachers have shared lecture recordings and other relevant study material through platforms such as WhatsApp, google groups and direct mailers. We have also provided assistive devices to supplement their preparation.”

Also read: DU Should Cancel Open Book Exams, Spare Students of ‘Final Cuts’ of Trauma

Monu: his college has internet facilities, but mobility is a problem.

But students from different colleges shared varying accounts. Monu Kumar lives in a hostel in South Delhi where the internet connection is unstable. When he reached out to his college officials, they granted him access to the ICT services available on campus.

But mobility remains a challenge for Monu, ‘’Since the lockdown, I have been unable to move around. I am in a situation where I want to take the exams but don’t know how to get there.”

The University claims to have floated e-notifications on various provisions for its visually impaired students.

Dr Vipin Tiwari, Officer on Special Duty-Equal Opportunity Cell, DU, said, “All guidelines pertaining to visually impaired students appearing for the OBE are listed on the university website. In these unusual circumstances we are trying our best to help students who fall under the category of Persons with Disability. We have also advised Common Service Centre (CSC) facilities to have a minimum of two scribes on standby in case students are unable to arrange their own scribes.

“However,” he said, “in rural settings we can’t guarantee screen reading software installation in computers in CSCs. Students can request the CSCs for any such requirement in advance. Students can also participate in the trial runs before the exam date as arranged by the university in CSCs. They can always appear for exams later if they can’t attempt this one.”

But scores of students are unaware and unclear about these provisions. Is it enough to issue and post the guidelines on the university website? Visually impaired students who have worked hard for years are hamstrung today because of a lack of access to adequate infrastructure, study material and scribes.

Given the flawed on-ground implementation of the guidelines issued by Delhi University, will these examinations provide a level playing field to everyone – one that offers an equal chance of succeeding?

Shabnam Durani works for Score Foundation, a non-profit organisation that works towards empowering people with vision impairment. The NGO runs a national toll free helpline 18005320469 for answering all queries related to living life with blindness.

Without the Right Tools, Students With Disabilities Struggle in Online Classes: Activists

A letter by an advocacy group to the Ministry of Social Justice says students with visual, hearing and learning disabilities are suffering during the lockdown.

New Delhi: While online classes are being conducted by many universities and academic institutions in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Javed Abidi Foundation has highlighted how these remain largely inaccessible to students with disabilities.

The Foundation has pointed out that 74,435 students with disabilities enrolled in universities across the country are not being able to attend these classes due to the lack of guidelines and absence of tools to facilitate students with visual, hearing or specific learning disabilities.

The Foundation said soon after the lockdown began on March 24, it held consultations to understand the specific needs of people with disabilities. Then on April 25, its convener Shameer Rishad wrote to the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) regarding the inaccessibility of online classes.

Set up in 2019 as a tribute to late disability rights activist Javed Abidi, the Foundation said it highlighted how several students with disabilities had pointed out the difficulties being faced by them in accessing online education during the lockdown.

It said students, particularly those with visual disabilities, were not able to access the study materials and the classes. “Some who were able to partially access classes said that it was only because they had help from their family. This was because assignments were sent to the students as scanned images. This could be a concern for people with learning disabilities as well who have difficulty reading.”

Furthermore, it added that “deaf students didn’t have access to the online classes itself as there was no sign language interpreter during the video calls. These students had also not been provided with transcripts. Most students were relying on notes which in some cases would take longer than a week to be collated and sent.”

Another major concern it highlighted was that many students did not have laptops, assistive technologies or internet access – all essential tools for accessing online education.

Ministry urged to ensure examination schedule, social distancing were not discriminatory

The JAF letter had also referred to how the examination schedule may discriminate further against students with disabilities.

It noted that “when students with disabilities do not have access to the study material or many of them do not even have access to the electronic devices to access the online classes, how will the students prepare for their examination?” It urged that the universities be asked to keep these challenges in mind while releasing the amended date sheets for examinations.

Also read: World Leaders, Experts Sign Unprecedented Letter Urging Govts to Back Free COVID Vaccine, Treatments

The Foundation had also highlighted that while social distancing appears to be one of the main solutions to control the spread of COVID-19, “persons with certain disabilities cannot follow this standard operating procedure as they require assistance from caregivers on a day to day basis”. It therefore demanded that those with disabilities not be subjected to any kind of discrimination for not practicing social distancing.

Social justice ministry directed HRD ministry to issue advisory to all states/UTs

Following the JAF letter, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on April 29 directed the Ministry of Human Resource Development to issue an advisory to all states and union territories to provide equal opportunity to all students with disabilities.

The letter stated that these measures should be taken to “ensure that students with disabilities participate equally with others in online classes and also to take into consideration the plight of such students while finalising the examination schedule.”

The statement by the Foundation said it was now awaiting a response from the MHRD.

A 20-point guide to a disability-inclusive response

Earlier this month, the advocacy group also came out with a 20-point “Disability Inclusive Response for Educational Institutions” which provided recommendations for educational institutions to make their education inclusive for students with disabilities during these challenging times.

The Foundation also said that while after the lockdown, educational institutions may have to adapt to the “new normal”, such as remote learning, social distancing, this “new normal” would have to be non-discriminatory and inclusive to people with disabilities. It reminded them that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 mandates non-discrimination and accessible and inclusive education for people with disabilities.

Also read: COVID-19 Is Leading to a New Wave of Social Stigma

Relevant guidelines needed for students with disabilities in schools too

Meanwhile, Rishad while sharing data as per the “on how Census data further shows that 61% of the disabled children aged 5-19 years are enrolled in school” while as per the All India Survey on Higher Education (2015-2016), conducted by Ministry of Human Resource Development only a mere 74,435 students are enrolled in Universities across India, said: “With schools going online and with so many entrance exams getting postponed, there is also a need for relevant guidelines in that regard as well!”

Rishad also commented that in his address to the nation on May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about “Sabke Prati Samvedna”, which loosely translates to caring for everyone, and “Aatma-nirbharta” or self reliance. He said, “even though the government may want to take care of everyone the reality is that the invisible, who don’t raise their voices or who are not heard, fall through the cracks if they are not self-reliant.”

The JNU Fee Hike Affects Students with Disabilities More Than We Realise

In India, where a large number of disabled students come from poor families, the demand of a household to pay thousands in rent for higher education is a tall one.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University fee hike issue has not come to a halt yet.

Students are still demanding a complete roll back of the hike and the nullification of the draft hostel manual which was passed without proper consultation by the JNU administration without proper consultation from all the stakeholders concerned. One such group of students who are already a marginalised minority within the campus are students with disabilities. Their complaint is two pronged, the first is about the hostel fee hike itself which is a concern shared by every hostel resident in JNU. 

The second complaint is that if the new hostel manual gets implemented, students with disabilities in the campus would no longer be given the mandated 5% reservations in the allotment of hostel rooms, which was still firmly being implemented as per the last hostel manual. This 5% quota in hostel rooms for differently abled students was implemented to be completely in sync with the reservation of differently abled students in education as per the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 

Till now, the JNU administration has followed the norm that every student with disabilities who has got admission in the campus would get a hostel room on a priority basis. Even such students who belonged to Delhi-NCR region could claim hostel rooms, if they are differently abled.

Such an option was not available to other students from the Delhi-NCR region. The reason that preferential treatment has been rightly given to students with disabilities in JNU is so that education can be made more accessible to them, thereby making lives easier for those who are otherwise a marginalised minority as a group, both inside as well as outside the campus.

Even an institution like JNU has, however, often failed to implement the disability reservation in the campus both in faculty recruitment and student selection from time to time.

Also read: JNU Students: You Are Our Only Hope

But that is a matter for another debate. Now, students with disabilities fear that whatever little was being done for them until recently is being diluted under the new hostel rules.

A logical question arises, why do students with disabilities want a status quo on their hostel quota? The reason is pretty simple. First, hostels are a basic necessity for differently abled students because it eases the process of their physical presence at their respective schools and centres as compared to a situation where they would have to live outside the campus and travel from there.

Again, living outside the campus and travelling from their place of accommodation to the campus are two different problems. First, because many differently abled students come from financially weaker sections of society, they would be unable to sustain themselves outside the JNU campus. Secondly, Indian society still discourages persons with disabilities to enter higher education and therefore, if a situation arises where the parents of a differently abled student have to shell out thousands of rupees just on room rent, there is a great chance that such a student would have to eventually quit studying and settle for a job instead.

Another scenario arises where a student with disability can afford to stay outside the JNU campus or if she or he has a house in the Delhi-NCR region. In this scenario, the problem of transportation is a large one. Sadly, our public transportation is not as conducive for persons with disabilities as it should be in a national capital. A big city like Delhi where going from one end of the city to another can easily take two hours on an average, it would be quite a frustrating and tedious task for differently abled students to spend three to four hours of their day just on travelling. It would just add to the list of their problems.

Also read: Social Justice in the Times of JNU Protests

Keeping all such scenarios in mind, the last hostel manual of JNU ensured that all students with disabilities are entitled to get hostel accommodation on a priority basis. This used to be an ideal case scenario and a model which other state universities should have followed in order to encourage differently abled people to enter higher education – a step which the government boasts that it encourages in letter and spirit. However, the changes in the new draft manual of JNU hostels threaten to strip away these basic necessities and the ideal which was followed for so long.

Among the cacophony of mainstream voices from within the campus, issues like these get dwarfed and therefore not highlighted because this particular aspect of the issue impacts only 3-4% of the students within the campus. Even within JNU, the politics of disability activism within the JNU students union is abysmally low. None of the office bearers of JNUSU are persons with disabilities.  

The reason why differently abled candidates are not brought to the forefront of campus elections in JNU taps into a bigger problem as one does not usually see differently abled politicians in India, barring extremely rare cases, either.

Ideally, the JNUSU should earmark at least one seat in their committee for which only persons with disabilities should contest in the student body election. This step would go a long way in making JNUSU diverse and would help raise issues related to disability.

This seems too ideal, but JNU is a place which can afford to be idealistic and has shown the way to society to think out of the box.  

Martand Jha is a freelance writer based in New Delhi.

Clueless Officials Leave Students With Disabilities in Assam in a Lurch

Mistreatment and ignorance about existing norms and guidelines hinder the academic pursuits of students with disabilities in Assam

Mistreatment and ignorance about existing norms and guidelines hinder the academic pursuits of students with disabilities in Assam.

Guidelines for disabled students are not followed during examinations and admissions in Assam. Credit: Pixabay

Guidelines for disabled students are not followed during examinations and admissions in Assam. Credit: Pixabay

Guwahati: In January, Tarali Saikia (name changed), a wheelchair-bound student was taken aback when during an admission interview at a prestigious Northeast-based university, she was asked by an administrator, looking at her physical condition, how she would commute to the university and stay by herself since her physical condition was a barrier to accessibility.

Saikia’s initial denial of admission by the university contradicted the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines that stipulate 5% relaxation in marks for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/Tribe, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Disabilities (PWD).

A city-based disability advocacy group which intervened on behalf of Saikia, pointed out that her admission was arbitrarily denied on the grounds that the university did not have such relaxation norms. After their intervention, Saikia, who had earlier completed her Masters from a foreign university, was given admission into the regional university and is now waiting for her PhD academic session to begin.

Saikia is among scores of students with disabilities across the state that either face outward rejection based on their physical conditions or whose needs are overlooked during important examinations by invigilators despite existing UGC guidelines specifying facilities like extra time and other accessibilities for them.

Outward rejection of admission based on physical conditions and refusal of access to candidates due to ignorance of existening guidelines often put students with disabilities on tenterhooks.

“The matter has been resolved now. But it [has] to be noted why the issue was raised in the first place. Looking at my physical condition, I was asked how I will be able to come to the university and how will I manage myself. We have existing rules and guidelines to support students with disabilities in their higher academic pursuits. But sadly ignorance towards such guidelines [leading] to rejection among educational authorities is quite common. I know about the guidelines which is why I could raise the issue but what about those students who do not know. They are utterly helpless,” Saikia told The Wire on promise of anonymity.

Last December, on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, vice president Venkaiah Naidu arrived in the state capital to inaugurate Deen Dayal Divyangjan Sahajya Achoni, a scheme under which 4.5 lakh persons with disability in the state will receive Rs 5,000 as one=time assistance for their medical treatment.

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In his speech, Naidu, though seemed inspired in calling for an attitudinal shift to address the issue of removing barriers in public spaces for persons with disability, overlooked the important points on how ambitious and talented students are left in the lurch in their pursuits for higher education due to ignorance about existing guidelines and norms.

“We must have separate arrangements for the people who are differently abled. It should be made mandatory that all schools, colleges, malls, cinema halls, restaurants and others have such arrangements for such people in the country. This is our responsibility to make proper facilities for the people with different physical conditions who are our brothers and sisters,” said Naidu.

With class 10 state board exam or High School Leaving Certificate Examination (HSLCE) conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Assam (commonly known as SEBA) already underway, and with only another week left for the exams to get over, it is unclear as to how many students with disability have appeared. This time around 3.5 lakh students are appearing for the state board exams. But according to officials at SEBA the exact number of candidates with disabilities has not been ascertained yet.

“Right now it is difficult to ascertain how many students with disability have appeared. It will be made clear once the result process begins, [Another] month left for that procedure to begin. But what I can say is that a total of 15 visually impaired students across the state are appearing for the exam in five centres,” said Nayan Jyoti Sarmah, controller of examinations, SEBA.

Instances of exam candidates with disabilities appearing for either state  board exams or graduate or post-graduate examinations being denied proper facilities and allocation of extra time as per guidelines by exam centres’ officials have emerged in the last few years.

Exam officials flouting norms

The ignorance displayed by exam centre officials towards candidates with disabilities and their right to access facilities has not only led to disheartenment and disappointment among the candidates, but also scoring of low marks.

As per the 2013 guidelines of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Disability Affairs, “the word extra time or additional time taken i.e. being currently used should be changed to compensatory time. The same should not be less than 20 minutes/hour of the examination for persons who are making use of scribe/reader/lab assistant [sic]”.

Visually-impaired students. Credit: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri

In HSLC exams. visually-impaired students were denied the allotted four hours extra time to write their exams. Credit: Reuters Files/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Last year, four visually impaired students appearing for the HSLC exams from Jorhat Blind School experienced a rude awakening when they were denied the allotted four hours extra time to write their exams. The students were told by exam centre officials at Ballya Bhavan School that only 20 minutes would be allotted as per the ‘notification’ they had received.

This is also flouts guidelines which requires scribes from ninth standard to be allotted to  visually impaired students appearing for HSLC examination as they are acquainted with specific terminologies and are able to fill up fields in the exam paper pertaining to exam registration numbers and admit cards.

For Jorhat-based Anima Bora who is 100% blind, the regular denial of allotted facilities for exam candidate with disabilities is a cruel reminder of her own case in 2016 when she was blatantly denied extra time while appearing for her first semester post-graduate exams.

A single mother, Bora, 44, whose husband passed away few years ago, had her hopes pinned on her academic pursuits. It was only after intervention from a disabled rights body that her case came into the spotlight.

“Back then when I had asked for extra time I was denied. I was supposed to be given 20 minutes extra per hour. The principal of the examination centre then called up the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) from where I was pursuing a distance post-graduate programme in Assamese. The principal was told that no such existing rule exists. My exam papers were then taken. It was only [after external] intervention that IDOL finally decided to grant me extra time. I only ask why such denial of allotted facilities should be repeated every year. I don’t need any pity or sympathy from the state government but what I want is that whatever guidelines or rights are at place should be implemented and respected,” said Bora. 

External organisations lend support to disabled students

Such instances are not limited to students who are visually impaired. Last year, Mohan Saikia (name changed), who has cerebral palsy, scored first division with three letters in English, Assamese and Social Science in the HSLC examination. Saikia walks with a help of a stick and his hands do not function efficiently. He prepared for the examination all by himself, without the help of private tuitions.

But during the examination, due to a goof up on his school’s part in not notifying his special condition to the examination centre, he had been allotted a classroom that was not on the ground floor.

“It was difficult for me to climb up the stairs. The school should have been careful owing to my condition. But I have forgotten that and now I want to go ahead in life,” said Saikia.

Shishu Sarothi, a leading not-for-profit organisation based in the city, working towards empowerment and rights advocacy for children and persons with multiple disabilities, has to pitch in when exam candidates with disabilities are denied the allotted facilities.

“Last year Munmi Gogoi, a student with visual impairment secured 1st division and Monmohan Rai also with visual impairment secured 2nd division from Moran Blind School. It may be noted that they were given a scribe who were from the eight standards. This greatly hampered in their performance as the eight standard scribes were not aware of the terminologies, signs, symbols and formulas used in tenth standard Mathematics and Science”, said Amvalika Senapati, coordinator of Disability Law Unit-North East, Shishu Sarothi.

With just a few months left for the results, and a week left for the HSLC exams to get over, the people at Shishu Sarothi are ready to pitch in their support if cases where exam candidates with disabilities are denied their rights emerge.

“What is required as of now is that the state government should approach the issue in a serious tone. Every year it is the same thing all over again. The candidates have the right to fulfil their academic pursuits and the state should help them achieve that. The attitude should change and officers from the education department from the top to the bottom should be well acquainted with the guidelines and norms. In most cases we have seen that principals of schools are not aware. Admission refusal and attitudinal barriers tantamount to prejudice and denial of rights towards students with disabilities,” said Arman Ali, executive director of Shishu Sarothi, who himself was targeted in a cinema hall last year for not being able to stand during the the national anthem.

Gaurav Das is a Guwahati-based freelance journalist