Saksham Punjab and Udan Empowerment Trust (Radio Udan) have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the question bank-based syllabus adopted for visually impaired students.
The two NGOs in the PIL stated that they are raising an issue of grave constitutional and statutory importance concerning the right of visually impaired students in Punjab to receive inclusive and equal education at par with able-bodied students.
They said the question bank-based examination system imposed by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) upon visually impaired students studying in Classes IX to XII is discriminatory. Under the system, visually impaired students are not taught or examined on the complete Punjab School Education Board syllabus applicable to other students.
Instead, they are restricted to a reduced “question bank" syllabus comprising only selected portions of the curriculum. The practical effect of this system is the segregation and academic dilution of students with visual impairment solely on account of disability, despite visual impairment having no nexus whatsoever with intellectual capability or cognitive competence.
The petitioners submit that visually impaired students are fully capable of studying the mainstream curriculum when provided with reasonable accommodations such as accessible digital books, screen-reader-compatible study material, scribes, compensatory time, and accessible examination formats.
Across India, visually impaired students routinely study the full syllabus under educational boards such as CBSE, ICSE, and multiple State Boards, and successfully compete in higher education and public competitive examinations, including UPSC, SSC, banking, and State Civil Services examinations.
The notifications originated through orders and notifications issued by PSEB beginning from October 30, 2017, and December 13, 2017, whereby the earlier “Question bank" facility applicable to hearing-impaired students was extended to visually impaired and mentally retarded students.
The petitioners submit that the board has mechanically clubbed fundamentally distinct categories of disabilities into a single undifferentiated “Differently Abled (DA)" classification and subjected all such students to the same reduced question bank-based examination system, contrary to the constitutional principle that unequals cannot be treated alike. While students with visual impairment require accessibility accommodations to access the same curriculum, students with intellectual disabilities may require curricular modifications altogether different in nature.
The respondents have thus failed to provide disability-specific reasonable accommodations as mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. While students with visual impairment require accessibility accommodations to access the same curriculum, students with intellectual disabilities may require curricular modifications altogether different in nature.
They prayed for the issuance of directions to quash the notification and also to issue directions to implement and impart the full syllabus for visually impaired students at par, with immediate effect, as the petition affects a large class of visually impaired students studying in PSEB-affiliated schools across the State of Punjab and concerns the larger constitutional guarantee of equality, dignity, non-discrimination, and inclusive education for persons with disabilities.
