Relief for students with disabilities, CBSE exemptions to take effect from 2019

Parents of children with disabilities are happy that the exemptions announced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will come into effect from 2019. The board will share the new guidelines on the study course as well as exam rules with the schools that come under it.

Samyuktha Arun, mother to a child with autism, says the exemptions will help ensure that the right to education guaranteed to every child is followed.

It is the human right of every child, including those of special children, to access education. Implementing some relaxations for children with special needs is most welcome and a positive initiative. This will help remove the discriminations they face and help provide a quality life to children with special needs. – Samyukta Arun, Autism parent

So, what are the main points of the new guidelines? Here they are:

• Students with disability certificates issued by listed authority will be given a scribe during exams.
• A student can now have more than one scribe.
• CBSE will pay the scribe’s fee.
• Assistant superintendent to supervise the exam.
• Visually-impaired candidates can now use portable video magnifiers.
• Students can use a computer after getting a certificate from registered medical practitioners. This is to be used for typing answers only.
• The computer used by visually impaired students cannot have an Internet connection.

Parents say that these exemptions are good news especially for kids with borderline issues. Meera Balaji parent to a child with autism, says, “The anxiety levels of the children as well as that of parents will be reduced by a great extent. This will given them more time to hone their life skills. “

The next challenge is to make sure that the information about these new rules are disseminated across all CBSE schools in the country to ensure that the barriers faced by children with special needs during exams in removed completely.

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