10 days prior to the next Nios exam, parents received a letter from the regional Director NIOS, Pune granting an hour extra to such students instead of a writer as requested by them. (Representative photo)

MUMBAI: In a development that brings hope to children with disabilities, recently deprived a ‘writer’ during examinations, the Bombay high court Chief Justice Mohit Shah suo motu turned a letter in to public interest litigation and issued notice to Central HRD Ministry, the NIOS director in Pune and others on Tuesday.

The letter written to the Chief Justice by mental health professionals Drs Harish Shetty and Sanghnaik Meshram stressed that the “rights of those appearing for NIOS exams 2015 have been violated by the Director NIOS Board, Pune.”

Children are certified by competent Medical authorities and only then were they granted the facility of a writer by the NIOS board for April 2014 and Oct 2014 NIOS Secondary and Senior Secondary examinations

But ten days prior to the next Nios exam due to commence on April 10, parents received a letter from the regional Director NIOS, Pune granting an hour extra to such students instead of a writer as requested by them.

Parents of special students appearing for examination of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) had last week met the institute’s regional director over various issues including availability of writers for a recent examination.

Dr Shetty said, “Students were jeopardized by the Director after he suddenly withdrew the facility of a ‘writer’ for them a few days before exams. These children from Mumbai have been given ‘writers’ in the 10th STD by the same board earlier after submission of valid certificates.”

The letter sought urgent intervention for justice to these students’by restoring immediately the ‘writer’ facility and taking action against the Nios director of the mental agony caused to students. It said, “The NIOS bye law 12.2 clearly provides for writer facility to the classified students. The Disability Act also specifies and prescribes for writer facilities, besides, a February 2013 letter from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Disability Affairs also grants the same concessions”.

The letter at a “short notice” has put parents and students “under tremendous stress and trauma”. The non confirmation of the writer facility puts children in a spot as even with the extended examination time, “our students are not in a position to write a theory paper physically due to their disability.”

“Action should be initiated against the NIOS director in Pune for causing mental health agony to the families,” said the letter.

The HC placed the matter for an early hearing on April 6 when the regional director NIOS, Pune and heads of Learning Disability department at Sion and Nair hospitals would also have to be ready with their say in the matter.

TOI | Apr 1, 2015

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