CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin has exempted private candidates with disabilities from taking up the supplementary Class 12 exams scheduled this month (August) and has declared them as ‘all pass.’ This comes after the Disability Welfare Commissioner wrote to the government to exempt persons with disabilities (PwDs) who were to take up the supplementary exams as private candidates given the Covid-19 situation.
Stalin in a statement said that all candidates with disabilities would be exempted from taking up the supplementary class 12 exams which are to begin from August 6. The statement quoted section 17(i) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 which states that suitable modifications can be made in the curriculum and examination system to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
The statement said that the School Education Department will decide on how marks can be awarded. The government, however, has also said that candidates with disabilities who wish to go ahead and take up the exams can do so, but that the marks scored in the exams will be treated as final.
The State government had earlier said that supplementary exams would be conducted for private candidates since school students were awarded marks on the basis of their class 10, 11, and 12 performance in public exams and internal assessments.