Of the total 16 centres across the country, South India has only three centres — in Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Mysuru.
Published Aug 27, 2024 | 4:00 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 27, 2024 | 4:35 PM
NEET Aspirants with disabilities struggle to obtain certification due to lack of assessment centres.
As the blockbuster Hindi movie Srikant captivates audiences with its heartwarming tale of a differently-abled protagonist overcoming obstacles to achieve his dreams, the real-life story for many NEET aspirants with disabilities in India is far from a fairytale.
While Srikant showcases the triumph of the human spirit against all odds, the reality for these aspirants is a harsh and unforgiving system that continuously puts them through unnecessary hardships.
The recent release of the NEET PG results should be a moment of joy and celebration for successful candidates. However, for those with disabilities, it marks the beginning of yet another battle — proving their eligibility.
These aspirants are forced to travel long distances to visit designated disability assessment centres, which are currently located in only nine out of 28 states and one out of eight Union Territories.
Of the total 16 centres across the country, South India has only three centres — in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Mysuru in Karnataka.
This means candidates must often travel across state lines, incurring significant expenses and enduring the physical and emotional strain of proving their disability again and again.
Even in the three centres in South India, all certifications are not available.
In Mysuru only the certification for hearing is available. For other tests, those from Karnataka need to travel either to Chennai or Thiruvananthapuram GMC.
However, for ophthalmology tests, even people from Kerala will have to go to the Regional Institute of Opthalmology in Thiruvananthapuram.
In Karnataka, the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) in Mysuru can certify only for hearing disability.
For years, the call to establish designated Disability Certification Centres across all states and Union Territories for NEET aspirants has gone largely unheard, leaving differently-abled candidates to navigate a challenging and fragmented system.
Dr Satendra Singh, a doctor with a locomotor disability, who’s a Professor at the University College of Medical Sciences and advocates disability rights amongst the medical fraternity also brought this issue to the forefront in 2019 by filing a complaint against the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
He highlighted the critical flaw in the system: the limited availability of disability assessment boards, despite all states and UTs having government medical colleges and hospitals issuing Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards.
Letter sent by Dr Sunil Kumar.
The then Chief Commissioner for Persons With Disabilities, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, took notice of this issue, in 2022. unfortunately, nothing has been done on this front.
Later, Dr Sunil Kumar from DGHS wrote a letter to the states and UTs to identify “one in each capital city of state which can be designated as Disability Certification Centre so that differently-abled NEET aspirants are not put to any difficulty in obtaining disability certificates for the purpose of admission in medical courses.
The letter by Sunil Kumar also stated that the centres should be fully capable of issuing disability certificates as per NMC/MCI norms.
Citing this letter Dr Singh told South First, “Why haven’t the states and Union Territories taken any actions on the letter sent by the DGHS after my petition to the Office of Chief Commissioner at the Centre? Each state should have screening centres having a doctor with a disability in that board.”
Since the identification of 21 benchmark disabilities by the Ministry of Social Justice, aimed at providing a 5 percent reservation in medical courses, the implementation has been patchy at best.
Despite the NMC/MCI’s guidelines and the RPwD Act, 2016, the reality is that many deserving students are unable to secure the necessary certification due to logistical and administrative barriers.
Past efforts to address this issue have included multiple directives and letters from various authorities, urging states and UTs to identify medical colleges or hospitals that could serve as Disability Certification Centres.
These communications, such as the letter dated 7 June, 2018 from the office of the MCC Chairman and subsequent letters, have consistently pushed for a more inclusive and accessible framework.
However, the responses have been inconsistent, with only 16 centres currently designated across the country, far from adequate to meet the needs of all PwD candidates.
Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance in Chennai, offers a firsthand account of these challenges, highlighting systemic flaws and the urgent need for reform.
She said this has become an ordeal every year. Having closely worked with NEET candidates with disability last year, Vaishnavi said the Alliance aimed to assist NEET aspirants facing these challenges.
“We wanted to work as a kind of hospitality initiative in the NEET certification process because we came to know that Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) is the only centre in South India to certify disability of all kinds. We came to know there were difficulties because it was chaotic. Candidates with disability from entire south India have been travelling to this place,” she said.
Describing the chaotic scenario, Jayakumar continued, “It wasn’t even as though it was all in one place. It was unnecessarily complicated and chaotic. We intervened last time and pushed the government to do basic wayfinding from the railway station, especially for out-of-state people. We had to tell people where exactly the medical board is etc.”
This experience was eye-opening for Jayakumar and her colleagues.
“It was our first time witnessing the certification process. We realised how silly it is because it’s wasteful. You’re cross-checking and verifying a person’s disability n number of times. Not only is it dehumanising for the candidate with a disability, but it’s also a terrible waste of medical professionals’ time. It’s not like we have that many of them, and we already have a waiting list of people who need to be certified.”
Jayakumar criticises the redundancy of the process. “So much of the time is just going, verify, verify, verify. And each time, they’re going back to square one. We were able to make sure the hall, the drinking water, and basic facilities were accessible. But sometimes, you are made to run around so much within a hospital campus that a layperson would get bogged down, unable to find out where to go. With limited energy, it’s a horrible experience. Very often, people are told to come the next day as well.”
She explained that there were even situations where a candidate, it’s very obvious has a visible disability, for instance, someone with slight locomotive disabilities was sent for the entire check of visibility.
“It’s unbelievable. You are checked for your IQ, your vision, your hearing — like an assembly line. It’s pointless because your job is to verify that whatever they have on their disability certificate is the case, not to do a general examination to find out all the various disabilities a person can have,” Jayakumar said.
She said candidates are left with no option but to comply. Jayakumar noted that the inefficiency limits the number of candidates who can be processed.
“You’re kind of restricting the number of people you can screen by having this unnecessary assembly line. And all of that matters because the deadlines are so tight. There was a candidate from Odisha in Delhi, and his family was freaking out because the state-level process was clashing with the central-level seat allocation. The two dates were clashing,” she added.
Jayakumar describes a lack of basic communication that could save candidates time and stress.
“Time and again, the same mistakes. Some centres don’t have specialists, and it just takes a minute to say this facility is not there. If you want an audiologist, don’t go here. Instead, people travel all the way and are told, ‘Sorry, we can’t certify your disability here.’ There’s no centralisation, no appointment booking,” she said.
Jayakumar’s frustration is evident as she speaks about the unnecessary hurdles.
“It’s heartbreaking to see these students, who have already worked so hard, face such unnecessary hurdles,”
As proof, Dr Singh took to social media platform X and posted about how candidates were not issued the certificates.
“Disability Certificates are not being issued by the ENT Dept of @SJHDELHI for both patients with deafness & NEET UG/PG candidates with disabilities. The reason provided is the LACK of an audiologist at this hospital. Despite need to have more UDIDs, SJH is referring back patients,” he wrote.
Disability Certificates are not being issued by the ENT Dept of @SJHDELHI for both patients with deafness & NEET UG/PG candidates with disabilities. The reason provided is the LACK of an audiologist at this hospital. Despite need to have more UDIDs, SJH is referring back pts 1/ pic.twitter.com/zAeDHgKRa7
— Satendra Singh, MD (@drsitu) August 26, 2024
Singh explained how the systemic failures regarding candidates with disabilities are glaring.
“Unlike other reserved quotas, people with disabilities are asked to repeatedly prove their status, often by travelling to different states. is not Many cannot afford to challenge these injustices in court. When the burden of justice falls on the shoulders of the most marginalised, it is not just a failure of the system — it is an indictment of its very foundation. The onus should not be on disabled individuals to advocate for themselves; this is the primary responsibility of the bureaucracy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jayakumar said there was a case last year where they tried their best to negotiate with the dean of the college but it didn’t work and the candidate had to go to the court.
“Go to court and get an order, and then I will do it. This is every year. We keep wondering, Oh my God, it’s that time of year again with court cases and back and forth. Time and again, the same mistakes and they’re not being fixed,” she said.
In another case, one resident of Karnataka, a candidate with a locomotor disability of her forelimb had completed her medical undergraduate in a Karnataka college and was qualified for PwBD reservation for NEET PG study as per her disability certificate score.
However, she couldn’t attend even her round two of counselling due to the delay in altering her certificate.
Accessibility: Establishing designated centres in every state and UT, particularly in capital cities, would significantly reduce the travel and logistical burdens on NEET aspirants with disabilities. Currently, candidates must travel to one of the few existing centres, which can be hundreds of kilometres away, adding undue stress and financial strain.
Uniformity and Compliance: Designated centres would ensure a standardised approach to disability certification, adhering strictly to NMC norms. This uniformity is critical to maintaining the integrity and fairness of the certification process, ensuring that all candidates are assessed under the same criteria.
Inclusion of Disabled Health Professionals: A key demand of the petitioner and a directive from the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities is the mandatory inclusion of doctors or health professionals with disabilities in these certification centres. This inclusion not only aligns with the principles of the RPwD Act, 2016, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) but also brings a unique and empathetic perspective to the certification process.
Empowerment of PwD Aspirants: By simplifying and decentralising the certification process, the establishment of these centres would empower PwD aspirants, giving them greater autonomy and confidence in their pursuit of medical education. It would eliminate the procedural hurdles that currently act as a deterrent to many.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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