With tension writ large on their faces, several physically and visually challenged graduates, accompanied by their scribes, took up the first ever Special Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) meant for differently abled unemployed candidates at two centres in the city on Wednesday.
Even as a few began to feel exam nerves prior to the test, resource persons from District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) helped them cope with the anxiety and offered motivation.
However, the question paper evoked a mixed response from the candidates — while some were happy, a few others complained that it had some “tricky” questions that were inappropriate to visually challenged candidates.
Defies logic
“The questions were difficult when compared to the previous TET examinations. There were questions that demanded description of a diagram which defies logic,” said K. Venkatesh, a visually challenged candidate from Sivaganga district.
A 40-day free coaching camp that was conducted in February by the State Council of Educational Research and Training through DIET and the Department of School Education proved to be helpful for many candidates. T. Thanabal (24), a visually challenged graduate from South Gate in Madurai, said, “The free training programme came as a blessing to students coming from humble backgrounds like me. Though I took the normal TET exams thrice before, I was not confident of clearing them. But, this time I feel positive about my performance,” he added.
As many as 239 candidates took the examination in Madurai district.
Among them 147 were visually impaired and 92 had physical disabilities.
There are around 4,000 visually impaired B.Ed. graduates in Tamil Nadu. The State government had allotted Rs.2 crore for the training programme held across the State in February. Those clearing the test, conducted by the Teacher’s Recruitment Board, will be recruited to take classes for students of Standards VI to X.
Collector L. Subramanian visited the examination centres in the city and inspected the arrangements in place.
