In the 2024-25 academic year, the TN government and Directorate of School Education allowed M Anand, a visually impaired student of class 12 to use laptop/computer to write his board exam. This is the first case in Tamil Nadu for students studying in the state syllabus to use gadgets to write exams.

Welcoming this move and requesting the government to strengthen this move, K Raghuraman, a visually impaired assistant professor, Department of English, Nandanam Government Arts College, said, “We welcome and appreciate the government’s effort to allow laptops, and hope it’s continued for subsequent years. But, it’s also time to include other initiatives such as specially designed question papers along with it.”

He added that specially designed question papers firstly removes the need for a scribe. Secondly, besides making the candidate self-reliant, it makes the child comprehend the question better.

“When the child can read and understand the questions better, they can perform better as well. The specially designed question papers without visual-based questions paper ensure fair and effective assessment,” he added.

Raghuraman further stressed for the laptop/computer to be introduced to visually impaired children from Class 6 and not only during final exams. “It should be allowed for Class 6 students to carry laptops or have gadget assistance in regular class and in final exams from middle school. Such a practice will eventually help them ace board exams too,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ashwin, a visually impaired Class 12 student of Indian School Certificate (ISC) has secured 90% using a laptop with a screen reader to access and read out the questions.

His mother, Hema, said, “For the board exam, he was provided specially designed question papers to ensure fair and effective assessment. This accommodation gave me immense satisfaction, as Ashwin was not granted any exemptions but was instead supported with suitable accommodation measures to demonstrate his true abilities.”