CHENNAI: For the first time in Tamil Nadu, a visually impaired Class 12 student from the Government Higher Secondary School for Visually Impaired in Poonamallee will take the state board public examination on a computer.
This comes after the school education department granted permission to the student based on a government order issued by the differently-abled welfare department in 2021.
The announcement was made by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi during a meeting with chief educational officers at the Anna Centenary Library. He highlighted that the government order, dated September 21, 2021, allows visually impaired students to take exams on computers.
“A student has come forward to write the exam using a computer with the assistance of a reader. He will be the first to do so under the state syllabus. This sets a precedent for more students with disabilities to take their exams independently,” the minister said.
M Anand (17) has been training on computers for the past three years. “I have been learning skills like typing to take exams on a computer. When I heard that two CBSE students had already done this, I wanted to try it too,” Anand said. For the exam, he will use Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) software, which enables visually impaired users to navigate and type. A scribe will assist him by reading out the questions.
School headmaster A Arul Anandan said Anand is a bright student and scored 444 marks in the Class 10 exams. “He has taken all the exams conducted in school this year using a computer. He is an ideal candidate for this initiative, as he has a keen interest in learning about computers and has been using them for the past three years,” he said. The government will provide the student with a computer with required software during the examination.
Speaking about the move, Dipti Bhatia, who works with disabled students, said that writing exams using a computer is a simple process. “This method ensures that students receive due credit for their performance rather than the scribes. With proper training to improve their speed and adequate facilities for computer-based exams, it is an easy process, especially with advancements in technology,” she said.
Welcoming the move, an academic said if students are given training to handle digital tools, and computers are made accessible, it will ensure that visually-impaired persons write all the examinations, including competitive examinations, by themselves.