General students sneak into disabled quota ; Hyderabad , AP

Students from the general category are fraudulently grabbing the seats reserved for persons with disabilities at the English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu), dozens of students alleged in a petition given to the varsity administration. The physically challenged students at Eflu have asked for separate counselling and admissions under the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) quota this year to prevent general category students with not so good academic record from eating into the quota using fake disability certificates.

More than 1,000 seats in post graduation, PhD and M Phil are up for grabs at the university with a three per cent reservation for students with disabilities. The admissions are made solely on the basis of the disability certificate given by medical boards set up by the state government in several districts, it was alleged.


"We have been asking for a separate counselling so that the disabilities could be verified. There should be medical officers on the day of counseling to verify the level of disability. This practice is prevalent in some varsities including the Osmania University," said Shanker Sampagni, a research scholar and a physically-challenged student at Eflu.


A recent crackdown in Maharashtra had revealed that 62 teachers had issued fake disability certificates to students. "The level of disability should be examined while giving seats under this quota so that deserving students do not lose out on opportunities," said another physically challenged student at the varsity.


The petition, asking for a separate date for counselling for this category, was submitted to university vice-chancellor Sunaina Singh. "In the preceding years, the admission and counselling for persons with disabilities was not appropriate and there was a lot of injustice done," the petition said. Students also asked for doctors from Osmania or Gandhi Hospitals during the verification process to avoid fake admissions. Varsity officials said they will look into various allegations.   

Source : Times of India , 10th June 2013