Hi Srikanth, While I agree with you for most part, I strongly feel that in competitive exams like IIT-JEE and other entrance exams where speed is utmost important, it's important that you've worked with the scribe for quite sometime in advance. consider this: you are not allowed the use of any assistive technology for scratch work, and you're trying to solve a question in linear algebra (say calculating the inverse of a matrix), it'll take a very long time explaining the scribe how the inverse is to be calculated. Instead, you would probably want to walk him through the process real quick, and since he's already worked with you on a similar problem, he can understand what you imply. Or, maybe, consider a question involving optical isomerism in Organic Chemistry, you would probably want the configuration to be described in a particular non-ambiguous way, rather than wasting your time trying to figure out how you want your scribe to explain that to you. To curve unfair means, it is invigilation which needs to be strengthened. Isn't that done to curve the use of unfair means for sighted students? Then, why not for us?
I'm aware of the situation that you've described, and it is indeed deplorable. However, making such norms that inhibit genuine talent at the cost of trying to ensure a fair exam is not, in my view, the best way to go forward. Either we need to allow assistive technology to enable the blind student to take the test independently and just rely on the scribe to bubble the responses, or we need to provide the candidate with a comfortable atmosphere with strong invigilation. BTW, I, too, am totally against segregating blind students for the purposes of taking exams. Best, On 11/18/13, Srikanth Bolla <presidentsrika...@gmail.com> wrote: > Don't worry. I have your number now > > -----Original Message----- > From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf > Of Kartik Sawhney > Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 2:34 PM > To: accessindia > Subject: [AI] Good news for blind engineering aspirants-changes in JEE Main > guidelines > > Hi all, > > It gives me immense pleasure to share with you that CBSE has amended its > rule for Joint Entrance Examination (main), the entrance examination for > most of the tech schools in the country (also a qualifying exam for the > IITs). Until last year, the Board allowed a non-Science scribe (from > Commerce (without Mathematics) or Humanities) stream, and that too from > class XI (two years junior to the candidate). this had several issues, most > notably that the scribe will not be familiar with the technical symbols on > the test, and hence will not be able to convey those to the candidate. > > According to the information brochure for JEE Main 2014, there is no > eligibility criteria for a scribe. Moreover, the candidate can opt to bring > his/her own scribe. In case the candidate opts to use a scribe provided by > the centre superintendent of the test centre, the superintendent needs to > ensure that both the scribe and the candidate meet at least an hour before > the examination to get comfortable with each other. > > Unfortunately, nothing has been done to make the diagrams on the test > accessible. Further, JEE Advanced (the entrance exam for IITs), allows a > Science student as a scribe, but from class XI. It also does not allow the > candidate to brin his/her own scribe. Despite all of this, I feel we are > close. I would urge the organisations working for the blind to take this > forward, and help future Science aspirants get the benefits of the elite > education imparted at these institutes. > > The information brochures for both the exams are located on their > respective > websites at http://jeemain.nic.in and http://jeeadv.iitd.ac.in. > > Best, > > -- > -Kartik Sawhney, > Cell: +1-(650) 492-3220 > E-mail ID: sawhney.kar...@gmail.com (all personal E-mails); > karti...@stanford.edu (all academic E-mails) > Skype: kartik.sawhney22 > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessind > ia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > -- -Kartik Sawhney, Cell: +1-(650) 492-3220 E-mail ID: sawhney.kar...@gmail.com (all personal E-mails); karti...@stanford.edu (all academic E-mails) Skype: kartik.sawhney22 Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
