CHENNAI: Blaming the decline in pass percentage among students with disabilities in the state board examinations held earlier this year on the revision of norms for appointment of scribes, teachers and headmasters are urging the school education department to clarify on the rules well ahead of the commencement of the 2027 public exams to avoid confusion.
The pass percentage among disabled students who took the Class 12 board exams in the academic year 2025-26 had dropped to 76.92% from the 93.10% recorded last year (2024-25) as the number of candidates who passed fell to 6,811 from 7,466 in 2025 despite the number of those who took the examinations having increased to 8,855 from 8,109.
In Class 10 boards, the pass percentage declined from 92.83% in 2025 to 85.89% in 2026. While the number of candidates increased by more than 1,000 from 12,290 last year to 13,292 in 2026, the figure of those who passed stood at 11,416 —just seven more than in 2025.
S Santhosh, a visually impaired person who appeared for the Class 12 public examinations last academic year, failed in English and Economics and had to take the supplementary exams to clear both subjects.
“I am an average student and would usually pass with around 45 marks (on 100) based on the answers I dictate. I, however, failed in both subjects, particularly Economics, for which the scribe did not understand my answers properly,” said the college student.
Teachers attributed the decline in pass percentage to the school education department’s move in January 2026 to bar subject teachers from being appointed as scribes in a bid to avoid possible misuse and address staff shortage concerns.
While the department proposed deploying college students and Illam Thedi Kalvi scheme volunteers instead, it partly reversed its decision in February following concerns over the availability and preparedness of scribes.
A visually impaired teacher working at a government special school said, “The problem lies in how scribes are allotted to students.” Under the norms, students should meet their scribe before the examinations to ensure effective communication. Scribes must also have adequate knowledge of the relevant subject to understand technical terminology and accurately write down the answers dictated by the student, the teacher added.
Further, some schools - particularly private institutions - in an attempt to help their students pass the examinations obtain medical certificates for them citing injuries to secure scribes.
This needs to be checked and the verification process must be tightened, the teacher said. Such allotment of scribes to ineligible candidates increased demand, making it difficult for the department to find suitable personnel for students who genuinely require the facility, the teacher added.
Teachers called for stricter verification of scribe requests by teams led by the respective districts’ chief educational officer to prevent misuse of the facility.
School education department officials said they would look into the issue and decide soon on the matter.
