Kathmandu, April 1

Differently-abled examinees using scribes in the ongoing School Leaving Certificate examinations are facing difficulty with invigilators hesitating to give them extra time to complete their paper.

Rakesh Gwachha, an examinee, is using a scribe to write his paper. “I still had a couple of questions left to answer when the allotted three hours were over,” he said, adding, “Had I been given extra time, I would have attempted all the questions.” He added that other differently-abled students who wrote their paper themselves were, however, given some extra time.

Gwaccha is a student of Jorpati-based Khagendra Navajeevan Kendra Secondary School.

Meanwhile, Yadav Paudel, exam superintendent at CSS, said ,“We grant extra time to disabled students on the basis of their writing speed and form of disability,” said Paudel, adding, “However, differently-abled examinees who use volunteers to write their papers don’t need extra time because the volunteers have the same writing speed as other normal students.”

Similar is the case of Ganga Maya Kaslawat, a cerebral palsy student from Jaycees English School. Kasalawat is a cerebral palsy patient and is appearing in the SLC examinations from Bhaktapur-based Everest English School. Kasalawat’s scribe Rachana said she was yet to write down answers of a few questions when the three-hour time was over.

“Kasalawat was not confident about the last few questions, but she somehow answered them in the extra time.” She said Kasalawat was not given extra time as a right but out of sympathy.

Another visually impaired examinee Sujan Dhakal from Lagankhel-based Namuna Machhindra Secondary School, who is appearing in the SLC examinations from Pulchowk-based Madan Smarak Higher Secondary School exam centre, said he finished his paper within three hours and did not require extra time. He, however, complained that no invigilators or staff from the exam centre was available when he needed extra paper to write.

Lakpa Sherpa, principal of Laboratory School, who is also in the SLC Board, said extra time is the right of each differently-abled examinee, irrespective of whether they use scribes or write their paper themselves. “The SLC Board had earlier decided to grant a maximum of one-and-a-half hour extra time to all differently-abled examinees,” he added.

This year’s SLC exam had begun from yesterday across the country. The second day of the exam was held peacefully across the country, according to the Office of the Controller of Examinations. The examinees today sat for their Nepali paper. They will sit for Mathematics paper on April 3.