India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) requires medical certification from students claiming Children with Special Needs (CWSN) privileges.
As reported by News 18, the CBSE stated that the board is fully committed to the execution of the Rights of the Person with Disabilities Act 2016. It also confirmed that all directives received from the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Department of Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities have been applied in schools.
The CBSE mandated affiliated schools to follow a specific framework to determine the mental health and intellectual disability of a student, and asked the Person with Benchmark Disabilities under the Right to Disabilities Act 2016, to submit medical certificates and specify the level of disability. Such students will also be allowed exemptions from classes 10 and 12 board exams as well as all exams of DOE until class 12.
The board has also mentioned that the right of its students under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 would be genuinely and fervently preserved.
The CBSE encouraged schools and educational institutions to follow all the instructions issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The official statement reads, in part, “in case of any ambiguity, schools, students, and other concerned are requested to follow instructions issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Department, Government Of India, for details.”
Students and parents who wish to obtain privileges under the Person with Disabilities Act 2016, can contact the respective schools and submit all the required certificates.
According to the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, “the appropriate Government shall ensure that the PWD enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity, and respect for his or her own integrity equally with others.”
