Visually-impaired students struggle to find scribes to write exams

With only a few days left for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations to begin, hundreds of visually-impaired students in the Capital are struggling to find scribes to write papers on their behalf.

Last year, when 31-year-old, Ankul Tomar had decided to continue his studies after a gap of 18 years, he did not even think that finding a scribe would be a problem. "I had to drop out after class IX in 1999 due to financial conditions. But, now I am pursuing my studies through distance education and enrolled in class X under the CBSE," he said.

Soon after dropping out from school, Tomar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, started working with a shampoo company. "In 2014, a poisonous chemical accidentally fell into my eyes and I completely lost my vision. After all these depressing years, I enrolled myself under the CBSE as a private student in September, last year. All my efforts will go in vain if I fail to find a scribe," said Tomar, who is also pursuing skill-development training at the Blind Relief Association (BRA) in Delhi.

Even though the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in 2013 revised its guidelines and criteria for the scribes, a large number of students still struggle to get somebody to write for them.

While the schools arrange these facilities for the regular students, it is the private ones who struggle on their own.

18-year-old Hemant Biji, who hails from Manipur and studied in a state board school till Class X had to opt for Hindi medium in Class XII. "There were only two options -- either English or Hindi. I don 't know English at all," he said.

"I thankfully found a scribe with the help of an NGO Youth4jobs. But the person is from English medium background. I don't know how well he can help me in writing the exam," said Biji.

However, experts demand that all the boards should provide question papers in braille. "By not providing the question papers in braille, the education boards are clearly violating the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Things will be easy if question papers are in braille," said Dr Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist.

CRITERIA FOR HIRING A SCRIBE

• Even though the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in 2013 revised its guidelines and criteria for the scribes, a large number of students still struggle to get somebody to write for them. 
   
• According to the new directions, criteria like educational qualification, marks scored, age or other such restrictions for the scribe should not be fixed.