Highly commendable service. What is her mother tongue? If I want to help her
in some way, can you share her contact details?
----- Original Message -----
From: "avinash shahi" <shahi88avin...@gmail.com>
To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2023 12:13 PM
Subject: [AI] Swaminathan Natarajan reports the BBC: "The Indian woman who
writes exams for others who can't "
In 2007, a blind man asked Pushpa to guide him across a busy road in
Bengaluru, a teeming metropolis in southern India. After they reached
the other side, he made another request which changed her life.
"He asked me if I could write an exam for his friend," recalls Pushpa,
who goes by one name.
She said yes, but when the day came, her excitement gave way to
anxiety. She had never written an exam for someone else and didn't
know what to expect.
Many Indian students with physical or learning disabilities use a
scribe to write exams on their behalf. They dictate answers to the
scribe, who notes them down. As per government guidelines, scribes are
not allowed to write for any subject they themselves have studied at
university level. They can get a defined fee for exams conducted by
the government, but most of the time, the work is voluntary.
"It was three hours of tension. The candidate was dictating the
answers very slowly and was asking me to read out the questions again
and again," says Pushpa, who chose to help out for free.
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But she did enough to help 19-year-old Hema (who uses one name) pass
her school final exams.
Soon, an NGO working with blind people approached Pushpa for help and
then other students. In the past 16 years, Pushpa has written over
1,000 exams, free of charge.
"Exam halls are like a second home for me," she tells the BBC.
In addition to school and university exams, Pushpa has also helped
candidates appearing in entrance exams and selection tests for
government jobs.
Pushpa poses with two exam candidates who are visually impaired
IMAGE SOURCE,PUSHPA
Image caption,
Pushpa (centre) with two visually impaired examination candidates
"Now it is routine work for me. I don't feel any stress," she says,
adding that the experience has helped her learn about many subjects
she had no knowledge in - from history to statistics.
She has helped blind students, those with cerebral palsy, Down's
syndrome, autism, dyslexia and students incapacitated by accidents.
But it can be challenging sometimes. When working with students with
cerebral palsy, which often impairs speech, Pushpa says she has to
"concentrate hard and look at their [the students'] lip movements to
try to understand words".
But she takes it in stride. She has helped Karthik (he goes by one
name), who uses a wheelchair, write 47 exams.
It was a crises that forged their long association. During a school
exam, Kartik's scribe left abruptly and Pushpa stepped in to help. The
25-year-old says he greatly appreciates her continual support since
then.
"I'm lucky to get a scribe like Pushpa. Scribes are really like gods
for us," he says.
Working together for years has given them a great understanding of
each other - Karthik has now graduated and is preparing for government
clerical recruitment exams.
"I have written multiple exams for many students and each one has a
unique story," Pushpa says.
Pushpa with Karthik
IMAGE SOURCE,PUSHPA
Image caption,
Karthik says scribes like Pushpa are like gods to him
In the third week of March, Pushpa wrote a university degree exam
paper for 19-year-old Bhoomika Valmiki.
Ms Valmiki, who is blind, uses tools that convert text to audio to
study, but such apps cannot be used during exams.
"I can only move forward in my life if Pushpa writes for me," Ms Valmiki
says.
"Pushpa was very patient and waited till I finished my answers. She
never distracted me and repeated my answers before writing them down,"
she adds.
Most people who seek Pushpa's help have struggled to get into
university, yet she says her empathy won't undermine her integrity.
"My job is to write what they say," she says. "I have no choice when
they ask me to tick a wrong answer or dictate a sentence which is
grammatically incorrect. I can't intervene."
When students who speak other languages struggle to understand English
words she translates the word for them. "That is the only help I
give," Pushpa says.
Pushpa with a blind candidate
IMAGE SOURCE,PUSHPA
Image caption,
Writing different exams has also helped to improve Pushpa's knowledge
Pushpa comes from a poor family. After her father was injured in an
accident, her mother worked hard to feed her and her brother.
"At one point, me and my brother had to drop out of school because we
couldn't pay fees," she recalls.
A stranger stepped in to help and Pushpa says she volunteers as a
scribe to give back this goodness to society.
She has taken up several small jobs over the years to make a living,
but the past few years have been particularly hard.
In 2018, her father died and in 2020, her brother passed away. A year
later, Pushpa, who was then unemployed, got some more bad news.
"In May 2021, my mother passed away. A few months later, in August, I
wrote 32 exams. Some days I would write two exams."
She says she found scribing therapeutic and helpful in overcoming her grief.
Pushpa receiving national award from the then President of India Ram Nath
Kovind
IMAGE SOURCE,PUSHPA
Image caption,
Pushpa's work has been nationally recognised
Her tireless work has not gone unnoticed. On 8 March 2018, she was
honoured by the then Indian president, Ram Nath Kovind, for her
efforts. She also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other
award winners.
Pushpa now works in a tech start-up and gives motivational talks at
corporate events.
But she still writes exams for those who cannot, and since she can
speak and write in five Indian languages - Tamil, Kannada, English,
Telugu and Hindi - there's plenty of demand for her services.
"I give my time and energy. If I write an exam for someone, it changes
their life," she says.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65692628?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_link_origin=BBCWorld&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign_type=owned&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=78A05A98-FD02-11ED-B2D4-EFE2D772BE90&at_format=link&fbclid=IwAR3Pa5OqIr60ERhHJRcCtt6NF3foGrgK2D0tYPBJ73c4DqaJSKOyixww44I
--
सादर/ Regards
अविनाश शाही/ Avinash Shahi
सहायक/ Assistant
मानव संसाधन प्रबंध विभाग/ Human Resource Management Department
भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक/ Reserve Bank of India
लखनऊ क्षेत्रीय कार्यालय/Lucknow RO
विस्तार/ Extension: 2232
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