The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Scribes still at a premium Teaching & learning

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Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Scribes still at a premium Teaching & learning

Meera Srinivasan

Those with training to partner students with disabilities other than visual impairment are in demand

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

VITAL PARTNERSHIP: A scribe plays a very important role in an examination taken by students with disabilities, say activists.

CHENNAI: For a section of students with disabilities, a scribe can make all the difference in an examination that matters.

Despite attempts made by non-governmental organisations to increase awareness, there is a paucity of scribes, especially those with training to partner students with disabilities other than visual impairment, activists and academics note.

For the public examination, the School Education Department allows teachers to step in as scribes. Last year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) permitted a student from a lower class to write for a Class X student, who met with an accident on the day of examination.

As for students with visual impairment, they call out the answers, while the scribes write them down. “The scribe, to a great extent, determines the child’s score,” says Sister Medona, headmistress of Little Flower Convent.

“Besides good handwriting, a fair amount of subject knowledge will help. Especially in subjects like mathematics in which the child may have to call out symbols alpha, beta, gamma and so on,” she says. A child’s future is, in a sense, in the hands of the scribe.

To address the problem, non-governmental organisation Vidya Sagar launched a website a year ago ( www.iscribe.co.in) so as to form a network of willing scribes. Nearly 900 volunteers have registered so far. Anybody who needs a scribe can log on to the website and be assured of finding one.

Emphasising the importance of training, Rajul Padmanabhan, director, Vidya Sagar, says it is a partnership between the student and the scribe. There are also students who may have speech impairment or other disabilities. “We propose to hold workshops for scribes, addressing these issues.” “Just because someone cannot speak, it doesn’t mean they have nothing to say. Just because someone cannot write, it doesn’t mean they are not entitled to education.”

“Training is key”

Annie Shyam, director, Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu (SPASTN), agrees that training is the key. “An orientation for scribes in all aspects of communication of students with disabilities will certainly help,” she says. Hundreds of students of SPASTN recently sat their examination through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). “The NIOS permits scribes who are slightly younger than the candidate to write on their behalf.”

On its part, the State government has been taking several measures, according to Dipti Bhatia, Deputy Director, Vidya Sagar. “The Department has been rather helpful. The G.O. with specifications on scribes for students with learning disabilities was also extended to those with neurological disability.”

Pointing to other challenges with regard to scribes, she says: “Another major issue now is the shortage of scribes for French, Sanskrit and Hindi.”

Furthermore, scribes are still largely perceived as those who can work with students of visual impairment alone. Persons with multiple disabilities, learning disability, neurological or orthopaedic impairment also require scribes. “A person with cerebral palsy may be non-verbal, who can point to answers with their hands or eyes. Scribes need to know how to read these gestures,” Ms. Bhatia says.

A teacher, meeting a student for the first time at a Board examination, may not be able to partner the child effectively, special educators note.

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