The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi University (DU) to provide scribes for students who are blind or have low vision, “otherwise the whole process of online Open Book Exam (OBE) would be a mockery.”
According to reports, the Delhi University during the hearing said that it is the responsibility of CSE Centres to provide scribes to students with vision disabilities. While the CSE Centres stated that it was not their duty to provide the services to blind students, they did not have such writers. CSE Centres have been set up to offer the facility to students who do not have the infrastructure to give OBE exams. The bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said that it is the responsibility of Delhi University to provide students who are blind with scribes.
The court ordered DU to clarify its position with respect to the scribes’ arrangement for visually impaired students by the next date of hearing on August 4.
The court’s direction came after DU and Common Service Centre (CSC) Academy gave contradictory statements with regards to arrangements for a scribe for students with vision disabilities for the OBE.
Delhi University said that it was not mandatory for the students to appear for online OBE, and they can give the physical exams later in September.
The court said DU was closing students with vision right to appear through the online mode by not providing the proper facilities, including scribes.
The HC further directed the university to clarify its position on the arrangement of scribes for students with vision disabilities by August 5. The final exam for final-year students of all streams is scheduled to take from August 10 to August 31.
