Disabled students in Maharashtra govt medical colleges get higher compensatory time during exams

Thanks to the persistent efforts of Aditya Sanjay Lohiya, a third year medical student at the Government Medical College, Akola, students with disabilities studying in government medical colleges in Maharashtra will now get 20 minutes per hour as compensatory time while taking their exams.

Students with disabilities in all government medical colleges in Maharashtra will now get an extra 20 minutes per hour as compensatory time for all types of examinations, including internal, external and practical.

A Government Resolution to this effect has been issued on 27 July, over two years after the Maharashtra government passed the order giving extra time in exams to students studying MBBS as well as post graduate medical courses.

The credit for making this happen goes to Aditya Sanjay Lohiya, a third year MBBS student at the Government Medical College, Akola. It was after his petitions that the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) in Nashik, finally made this a reality.

Aditya, who has cerebral palsy, started petitioning authorities in February this year.

Aditya has 58% disability

I have a 58% disability and would get 30 minutes extra time while taking my exams which was not enough. My father read somewhere that the Maharashtra government had passed an order giving more time and I decided to take it up. I am happy this has come into force in all government medical colleges in the state. – Aditya Sanjay Lohiya, MBBS student, Government Medical College, Akola

Among those who supported his efforts is Dr Sofia Hussain Azad, an occupational therapist at the Government Medical College, Nagpur. Dr Azad helped him draft his letters and representations to higher levels authorities.

“Aditya contacted me through a former student and I saw merit in his petition. We see so many people with disabilities at our centre and with the right kind of support they can do everything. I saw Aditya’s determination and commitment to study medicine and felt we should support him to make this happen”, says Dr Azad.

Aditya’s parents Sanjay and Suchita Lohiya are happy that this will benefit disabled students across the state. “We are glad that thanks to our son’s efforts all handicapped students in the state studying medicine will get the benefit of extra time. We were searching for some disability-related documents when we came across this rule that a physically handicapped child should get extra time irrespective of the time limit of the question paper and Aditya took the matter up”.

Implement this pan India, say experts

The next step is to bring this into effect in all medical colleges, says Dr Satendra Singh, Founder, Doctors with Disabilities, a pan India body of medical professionals with disabilities. Aditya is also a member of this group.

“We need to get this into effect in all universities. I am writing to the Delhi University (DU) today to implement the University Grants Commission directive in all medical colleges under DU. Currently only the facility of a scribe is offered to someone with a temporary injury”.

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