The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released guidelines for conducting Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main for persons with disabilities. The guidelines have been released as the agency had been receiving several enquiries on issues related to scribe and compensatory time for PwD/ PwBD candidates.
As per "The Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016", "person with benchmark disability" means a person with not less than forty per cent of a specified disability where specified disability has not been defined in measurable terms and includes a person with disability. Person with disability also means a person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders his full and effective participation in society equally with others.
The official notification by the NTA reads, "Facility of scribe and/or compensatory time will be granted solely to those having difficulty in writing subject to production of a certificate to the effect that person concerned has limitation to write and that scribe is essential to write examination on his/her behalf from the competent medical authority of a Government healthcare institution as per proforma at Appendix-II."
The word 'extra time or additional time' that is being currently used should be changed to 'compensatory time' and the same should not be less than 20 minutes per hour of examination for persons who are allowed use of scribe / reader / lab assistant. All the candidates with benchmark disabilities who are eligible for availing the facility of scribe in terms of guidelines IV (Refer Para IV of Part-Il to this Publie Notice) may be allowed additional time of minimum of one hour for examination of three hours duration whether they use the facility of scribe or not. In case the duration of the examination is less than an hour, then the duration of additional time should be allowed on pro-rata basis. Additional time should not be less than 5 minutes and should be in the multiple of 5.
