The Bombay High Court has
asked the state government whether it was willing to term learning
difficulties as a disability, after a 17-year-old girl filed a petition
challenging the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to
not grant her admission under the handicapped persons' quota.
The girl had sought admission to a city college for a para-medical course (Bachelor in Audio Speech Language Pathalogy). She said in her petition that she suffered from dyslexia, dyscalculia and disgraphia, but managed to score 71.4 per cent in SSC, and 60 per in HSC examinations.
Denied admission
While appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET) under persons with disability category, she secured percentile of more than 50, but was denied admission in that category by DMER, forcing her to seek admission in open category.
The girl, however, contended that she should get benefits provided under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which provides for a three per cent reservation for persons with disabilities.
The high court sought to know from the state government whether she, and those suffering from similar problems, could be given benefit of reservation in admission to educational courses on the lines of persons with disabilities.
The division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha also directed the DMER to take into consideration the draft of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill drafted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in September 2012.
Putting people with learning difficulties at par with 'persons with disabilities', the draft has provisions for reservation in government jobs for people suffering from "autism, intellectual disability and mental illnesses".
It recognises dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia as disabilities. It even talks about giving incentives to the private sector to encourage the same.
The high court bench has given the state government two months' time to take a decision in this regard.
Advocate Pooja Thorat, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner's fight was to make people understand that persons with learning disabilities were not low on IQ, but it was just about difficulty in understanding multiple instructions at the same time.
According to the state government, the Medical Council of India rules recognise only locomotary disability of lower limbs (between 50 per cent and 70 per cent) to be considered for the handicapped persons' quota.
The high court, however, directed that the girl securing admission in open category should not come in her way for being considered as a candidate in 'handicapped persons' category while seeking admission to the Master's Degree course.
Source : Mumbai Mirror , 29th September 2013
The girl had sought admission to a city college for a para-medical course (Bachelor in Audio Speech Language Pathalogy). She said in her petition that she suffered from dyslexia, dyscalculia and disgraphia, but managed to score 71.4 per cent in SSC, and 60 per in HSC examinations.
Denied admission
While appearing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (NEET) under persons with disability category, she secured percentile of more than 50, but was denied admission in that category by DMER, forcing her to seek admission in open category.
The girl, however, contended that she should get benefits provided under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which provides for a three per cent reservation for persons with disabilities.
The high court sought to know from the state government whether she, and those suffering from similar problems, could be given benefit of reservation in admission to educational courses on the lines of persons with disabilities.
The division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha also directed the DMER to take into consideration the draft of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill drafted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in September 2012.
Putting people with learning difficulties at par with 'persons with disabilities', the draft has provisions for reservation in government jobs for people suffering from "autism, intellectual disability and mental illnesses".
It recognises dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia as disabilities. It even talks about giving incentives to the private sector to encourage the same.
The high court bench has given the state government two months' time to take a decision in this regard.
Advocate Pooja Thorat, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner's fight was to make people understand that persons with learning disabilities were not low on IQ, but it was just about difficulty in understanding multiple instructions at the same time.
According to the state government, the Medical Council of India rules recognise only locomotary disability of lower limbs (between 50 per cent and 70 per cent) to be considered for the handicapped persons' quota.
The high court, however, directed that the girl securing admission in open category should not come in her way for being considered as a candidate in 'handicapped persons' category while seeking admission to the Master's Degree course.
Source : Mumbai Mirror , 29th September 2013
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