Names
and numbers have been buried without a trace along with the hopes and
dreams of many. Figures may not be available, but stories of MBBS aspirants attest that there have been deliberate attempts to exclude the disabled from foraying into the medical arena.
This year, of the 138 differently-abled candidates who applied for
MBBS, only 81 were called for counselling. Of them, 45 were allotted
seats, while nine seats went vacant "for want of eligible candidates".
V Dhanasekaran, 27, who has a spinal cord disability, has no idea why he didn't make the grade. He wasn't called for counselling despite having a cut-off of 190. "Officials tell me my application was rejected. No one knows why," said Dhanasekharan, who works as a Siddha doctor in Villupuram.
This is the second time his application has been turned down. "Last year, when I went for counselling, they did a preliminary check and said I wasn't eligible to apply under the disabled category," said Dhanasekharan, who plans to file a petition in the Madras high court. Last year, P Divya, who has a condition similar to Dhanasekharan's, questioned the legality of her rejection in the Madras high court. She won the case and is currently pursuing medicine in a college in Dharmapuri.
Medical Council of India (MCI) regulations say that only people with 40% to 70% locomotor disability in the lower limbs are entitled to 3% reservation for MBBS admission under the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act), 1995. The applicants submit photos and disability certificates provided by district medical boards, but it is the selection committee, set up by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), that decides the eligibility of candidates.
"It is this final examination that raises a lot of questions. When the district medical board shows a candidate as being 60% disabled, the selection committee for unexplained reasons shows them as 30% disabled," said S Namburajan, secretary of TN Association of Rights of Differently-abled. Namburajan's association helped three candidates file petitions in the high court this year seeking the reasons for rejection. Activists have also questioned the logic behind allotting unfilled seats reserved for the differently-abled to the open category. "The entire procedure smacks of a scam. Of the 54 seats reserved for the differently-abled, nine have been allotted for the general category. The authorities need to make public the names of candidates who have been given these seats and their cut-offs," said T M N Deepak, vice-president Tamil Nadu Differently-abled Federation. The MCI norm limiting disabilities to the lower limbs is against the spirit of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India is a signatory. "It is unfair to deny a person with disabilities the right to education. A candidate without a hand doesn't have to be a surgeon. He or she can be a general physician or take up research," said Deepak.
DME officials have denied the allegations raised by activists. "Experts in physical medicine, neurology and orthopaedics examine each candidate. Most candidates are from districts that may not have qualified neurologists or orthopedicians. As per MCI norms, we have a separate medical test, which is why the percentage of disability changes," said R G Sukumar, selection committee secretary. "We would be happy to fill all the seats under disability quota, but there aren't enough eligible candidates."
The state health department said it would look into the matter. "MCI has strict guidelines. If candidates feel that there is a lack of clarity in the guidelines, we will take it up with MCI," said state health secretary J Radhakrishnan, adding that changes need to be made at the national level. "It would be easier if a single identification card valid throughout the country was issued to disabled people instead of different certificates," he said.
In the meantime, aspirants are kept on the tenterhooks. "Last year I was called for counselling but told I was not eligible because the committee said I was 35% disabled thought the Namakkal district medical board certified me 60% disabled," said P Raja, 27, who is disabled by polio. "This year, I didn't get a call. I will apply again and keep fighting till I fulfill my father's dream of seeing me in a white coat."
'Insufficient disability' denied her the seat
She had the marks but her disability was not 'sufficient' for her to be included under the special quota. Divya P still remembers the day the judge ruled in her favour, ending her three-month ordeal.
"All I could think of at that moment was I had missed nearly two months of classes and had a lot of catching up to do," said the 21-year-old, who is pursuing her MBBS at Dharmapuri medical college.
Divya had kyphoscoliosis, a deformity of the spine, which left her with one short leg. However, when she applied for MBBS under the special category in 2011, the selection committee denied admission on the ground that she did not suffer from locomoter disabilty in her lower limbs.
Not one to give up, Divya decided to challenge the system at the Madras high court. "In the court, we pointed out that under the Persons with Disabilities Act, locomoter disability includes not only lower limbs, but disability of the spine as well," said her lawyer R Prabhakaran, who has been fighting for the cause of the specially-abled. The court ruled in her favour and directed the directorate of medical education to provide her admission. "I didn't get what I wanted easily. But I'll strive not to let down all those who stood by me through the fight," said Divya, who wants to pursue research in fertility.
'Is surgery the only option, can't I go for research in medicine?'
Every time M Vanathi tells someone she wants to become a doctor, their eyes turn to her bands that end in a stump, without fingers. So strong was her determination to wear the white coat, that when officials shut the door citing her disability, she approached the judiciary for help.
"They refused to even consider my application," said Vanathi, who approached the Madurai bench of the Madras high court last year. "I may not have a normal hand, but surgery is not the only option in medicine. I can be a general physician or opt for research. It is unfair, they did not even considered me for counselling," said Vanathi, who a third-year engineering student at Thyagaraja engineering college in Madurai.
Vanathi was born with no fingers on her left hand. "But right from the time I was a kid, I never felt I was incomplete or disabled. I made it a point to take care of myself and not rely on anyone for help. I've come this far on my own and I'm confident I can go ahead and help others as well by being a doctor," she said.
Asked if she would give up engineering if she got admission for MBBS, the reply comes without a moment's hesitation. "I will. Being a doctor has always been my dream. If I don't take it up, my fight will be in vain," she said.
Source : TOI , 6th July 2013
V Dhanasekaran, 27, who has a spinal cord disability, has no idea why he didn't make the grade. He wasn't called for counselling despite having a cut-off of 190. "Officials tell me my application was rejected. No one knows why," said Dhanasekharan, who works as a Siddha doctor in Villupuram.
This is the second time his application has been turned down. "Last year, when I went for counselling, they did a preliminary check and said I wasn't eligible to apply under the disabled category," said Dhanasekharan, who plans to file a petition in the Madras high court. Last year, P Divya, who has a condition similar to Dhanasekharan's, questioned the legality of her rejection in the Madras high court. She won the case and is currently pursuing medicine in a college in Dharmapuri.
Medical Council of India (MCI) regulations say that only people with 40% to 70% locomotor disability in the lower limbs are entitled to 3% reservation for MBBS admission under the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act), 1995. The applicants submit photos and disability certificates provided by district medical boards, but it is the selection committee, set up by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), that decides the eligibility of candidates.
"It is this final examination that raises a lot of questions. When the district medical board shows a candidate as being 60% disabled, the selection committee for unexplained reasons shows them as 30% disabled," said S Namburajan, secretary of TN Association of Rights of Differently-abled. Namburajan's association helped three candidates file petitions in the high court this year seeking the reasons for rejection. Activists have also questioned the logic behind allotting unfilled seats reserved for the differently-abled to the open category. "The entire procedure smacks of a scam. Of the 54 seats reserved for the differently-abled, nine have been allotted for the general category. The authorities need to make public the names of candidates who have been given these seats and their cut-offs," said T M N Deepak, vice-president Tamil Nadu Differently-abled Federation. The MCI norm limiting disabilities to the lower limbs is against the spirit of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India is a signatory. "It is unfair to deny a person with disabilities the right to education. A candidate without a hand doesn't have to be a surgeon. He or she can be a general physician or take up research," said Deepak.
DME officials have denied the allegations raised by activists. "Experts in physical medicine, neurology and orthopaedics examine each candidate. Most candidates are from districts that may not have qualified neurologists or orthopedicians. As per MCI norms, we have a separate medical test, which is why the percentage of disability changes," said R G Sukumar, selection committee secretary. "We would be happy to fill all the seats under disability quota, but there aren't enough eligible candidates."
The state health department said it would look into the matter. "MCI has strict guidelines. If candidates feel that there is a lack of clarity in the guidelines, we will take it up with MCI," said state health secretary J Radhakrishnan, adding that changes need to be made at the national level. "It would be easier if a single identification card valid throughout the country was issued to disabled people instead of different certificates," he said.
In the meantime, aspirants are kept on the tenterhooks. "Last year I was called for counselling but told I was not eligible because the committee said I was 35% disabled thought the Namakkal district medical board certified me 60% disabled," said P Raja, 27, who is disabled by polio. "This year, I didn't get a call. I will apply again and keep fighting till I fulfill my father's dream of seeing me in a white coat."
'Insufficient disability' denied her the seat
She had the marks but her disability was not 'sufficient' for her to be included under the special quota. Divya P still remembers the day the judge ruled in her favour, ending her three-month ordeal.
"All I could think of at that moment was I had missed nearly two months of classes and had a lot of catching up to do," said the 21-year-old, who is pursuing her MBBS at Dharmapuri medical college.
Divya had kyphoscoliosis, a deformity of the spine, which left her with one short leg. However, when she applied for MBBS under the special category in 2011, the selection committee denied admission on the ground that she did not suffer from locomoter disabilty in her lower limbs.
Not one to give up, Divya decided to challenge the system at the Madras high court. "In the court, we pointed out that under the Persons with Disabilities Act, locomoter disability includes not only lower limbs, but disability of the spine as well," said her lawyer R Prabhakaran, who has been fighting for the cause of the specially-abled. The court ruled in her favour and directed the directorate of medical education to provide her admission. "I didn't get what I wanted easily. But I'll strive not to let down all those who stood by me through the fight," said Divya, who wants to pursue research in fertility.
'Is surgery the only option, can't I go for research in medicine?'
Every time M Vanathi tells someone she wants to become a doctor, their eyes turn to her bands that end in a stump, without fingers. So strong was her determination to wear the white coat, that when officials shut the door citing her disability, she approached the judiciary for help.
"They refused to even consider my application," said Vanathi, who approached the Madurai bench of the Madras high court last year. "I may not have a normal hand, but surgery is not the only option in medicine. I can be a general physician or opt for research. It is unfair, they did not even considered me for counselling," said Vanathi, who a third-year engineering student at Thyagaraja engineering college in Madurai.
Vanathi was born with no fingers on her left hand. "But right from the time I was a kid, I never felt I was incomplete or disabled. I made it a point to take care of myself and not rely on anyone for help. I've come this far on my own and I'm confident I can go ahead and help others as well by being a doctor," she said.
Asked if she would give up engineering if she got admission for MBBS, the reply comes without a moment's hesitation. "I will. Being a doctor has always been my dream. If I don't take it up, my fight will be in vain," she said.
Source : TOI , 6th July 2013
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