NEET-PG counselling around the corner, NMC yet to notify new disability assessment norms

The new set of guidelines was to make medical education more inclusive and provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disability, instead of barring them from the courses.

“Without any new inclusive guidelines or standard operating procedures, the medical boards are likely to continue following the previous guidelines, which have been unfair to candidates with disabilities and have led to court challenges,” Dr Satendra Singh from Doctors With Disabilities said. Dr Singh, who himself had polio and uses crutches to aid his affected leg, has written to the NMC, urging it to come out with guidelines soon to allow candidates time to go through the assessments needed.

Dr Singh said there were several problems with the older guidelines. The 2019 guidelines disqualify doctors who do not have function in one hand, but they may still be competent to pursue specialities such as psychiatry, if not a surgical discipline, Dr Singh said.

The older guidelines require doctors with learning disabilities such as dyslexia to undergo assessment again before their PG counselling. “For learning disabilities such as dyslexia, no re-assessment is needed as an adult. This is because their learning pathways have already developed. Yet, doctors who have completed their MBBS still have to undergo the same tests that would be given to a child. This is not an accurate way of assessing their disability,” he added.

Another challenge faced by disabled candidates applying for MBBS and PG courses alike is the number of centres permitted to carry out the assessment. There are only 16 centres across the country that are approved for disability assessment for medical courses. For many, this means travelling to distant cities and hospitals to get the assessment.

“I know of a doctor who is in the advanced stages of her pregnancy. She is from Andhra Pradesh, and there are no centres in that state. This would mean she would have to travel to another state to get the assessment certificate,” said Dr Singh.

What the interim guidelines say

The interim guidelines for undergraduate courses focus on the functional competence of people with various disabilities. It adds one step in the process for students with disability — students have to submit a self-certified affidavit on the activities they can and cannot perform.

For this newly added process, the students have to submit two self-declaration certificates — one which states the type of disability the student has and whether they can communicate clearly, hear in quiet and noisy environments, write and hold instruments with their dominant hand, comprehend medical terminologies and maintain social interaction, and whether they can perform all tasks with the help of low vision aid and their vision improves to qualify for less than 40 per cent disability with it.

The second affidavit is disability specific and asks the students to answer questions such as whether they can bear weight on both feet, whether they can lift a glass up and drink water, whether the aid they use to enhance their vision is hands-free and suitable for daily use, etc.