Thursday, February 02, 2006
The logic of merit cannot be used to deny entry to disabled people
The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) on January 26 sent an application to the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions complaining of discrimination faced by them.
The letter appealed that the Union Service Public Commission (UPSC) which has different norms for the number of attempts allowed to disabled category candidates for appearing in the Civil Services exams needs to be revised immediately.
While candidates belonging to SC/ST have unlimited number of attempts till the age of 35, and OBC candidates have seven attempts till the age of 33, disabled candidates are allowed no more than four attempts till the age of 40.
"We want the government to allow us more number of attempts like others. What is the point of age relaxation if we can’t appear for the exams due to restricted number of attempts?" says 33-year-old Sunil Kumar, a UPSC aspirant who has taken the Civil Services exams four times, and wants to make another attempt.
Another discrepancy which Kumar, who works with the Airport Authority of India, points is that although in January 2005 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had ordered that three per cent reservation should be adhered in Civil Services for persons with disabilities, there are no reserved seats for top posts like the IAS and IPS (administrative).
Last year more than one lakh candidates appeared for the UPSC exam. Out of the total 422 seats, only two were taken in. "Constitutionally, the country accepted the logic of reservation as a means of providing a level playing field to bring marginalised sections at par with the mainstream. The three per cent reservation for disabled people should be seen within the same legislative logic. But as we have stressed, the extension of age limit sans the increased number of attempts, entitled to other reserved categories, is subversion of that logic," says Parvinder Singh, senior project coordinator, communication, NCPEDP.
Singh further says that the UPSC should assess the disabled keeping in mind their access to books and coaching centres.
"The logic of merit cannot be used to deny entry to disabled people, as lack of access to education and other facilities place disabled people at the greatest disadvantage. Can you imagine a wheelchair user from a lower-middle class background coming to Delhi, renting an accessible place and commuting on DTC buses to get to coaching classes?" says Singh.
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