Strictly follow 5% quota for those with 40% disability, Tamil Nadu universities told
A person with a benchmark disability means that he/she has not less than 40 per cent of a specified disability.
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CHENNAI: With many universities and higher educational institutions including private colleges in the State not strictly following the reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities, the Tamil Nadu government has issued fresh guidelines to ensure the same and avoid 'issues' during the admission process.
A person with a benchmark disability means that he/she has not less than 40 per cent of a specified disability.
The Welfare of Differently Abled Person Department Secretary S Nagarajan has instructed all the State-run universities including Anna University that all government institutions of higher education and other education institutions receiving aid from the State should reserve not less than 5 per cent seats for persons with benchmark disabilities.
"The persons with benchmark disabilities shall be given an upper age relaxation of five years for admission in higher education institutions," he added.
He said Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University provided reservations only to locomotor disability from 40 per cent to 70 per cent even in the BBA and other such management-oriented degrees. "Other disabilities are excluded and the same could be found in the prospectus of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University," he added.
Claiming that candidates with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and specific learning disability are completely ineligible, he said, "It was noted in the prospectus issued by the Directorate of Medical Education that it had completely excluded the ASD and specific learning disability for all paramedical courses, whereas mild ASD (-40%) is eligible for the courses.
"Some of the prospectus merely states that the Medical Board shall clarify the suitability of a candidate to study the course," he said adding "However, clear and explicit instruction regarding the expected requirement from a candidate is not provided in the prospectus leading to heavily subjective assessment".
Accordingly, he said candidates with at least 40 per cent disability should be allowed to apply irrespective of the type of disability.
"Courses shall not be restricted unreasonably". The official, however, said if an institute offering a diploma in film editing thinks their core course module cannot be completed to the fullest extent by a person with visual impairment, then such a course could be considered for exclusion only for a person with visual impairment".