In a bid to bring transparency in examinations for professional courses, including NEET, IIT-JEE and UPSC, the government has decided to phase out the system of “own scribes” for differently-abled candidates and has instructed testing agencies to offer technological solutions and create a pool of scribes over the next two years by August 2027.
The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPwD) has issued new guidelines for conducting competitive written public examinations for differently-abled, who are eligible for 4-5 per cent reservation in professional courses. Through these guidelines, the government has sought to give technological solutions a push and offer scribes in a limited manner. The guidelines lay down that the candidates will be encouraged to use technological solutions like software-enabled laptops to take examinations and if the candidate refuses to use technology the examining body (EB) will offer a scribe. The practice of bringing own scribes will be discouraged and then gradually disallowed after two years. “EBs are, however, expected to form a comprehensive panel of scribes within a maximum of two years,” the guidelines read. The EBs have been given till August 2027 to complete this process.
The move comes following several complaints of candidates misusing “own scribes”. However, disability rights activists have pointed out that assistive technology remains elusive and the one-size-fits-all approach is discriminatory. Arman Ali of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People told ET, “The government will need to invest in reasonable accommodation solutions and promote assistive technology before phasing out its ‘own scribe’ system. The two-year deadline is unreasonable. Also, asking candidates to take examinations on software-enabled laptops and similar devices is discriminatory, as access to technology varies and this one-size-fits-all approach will not work without adequate infrastructure and awareness.”The government, however, has said that the guidelines may be tweaked following the feedback. Speaking to ET, DEPwD secretary Rajesh Aggarwal said, “We are trying to promote use of technology gradually through these guidelines. At the same time, the department is open to further stakeholder consultations, if need be.”
