The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has come up with a big Accessibility decision for entrance examinations. Under this new reform, the Person with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) can choose their centre. In other words, the candidates with benchmark Disabilities will be allotted an examination centre as indicated in their preference in the application form. This decision comes with regard to recognising logistics challenges and special requirements faced by the UPSC aspirants. Previously, seats in centres were allocated based on a first-come, first-served basis.
The UPSC chairman, Ajay Kumar, shared that the announcement was made after viewing the last five years’ data of the examination centre. In which the analysis was made that centres such as Delhi, Patna, Lucknow and others are filled very quickly due to the high volume of applicants. This leaves PwBD to opt for a centre where they might face inconvenience due to limited resources available for their adoption. The decision would ensure that all accommodations are provided to PwBD.
UPSC
The Union Public Service Commission is a government body that conducts standardised examinations for the recruitment of All India Services and Central Civil Services. This includes the selection of aspirants for positions of bureaucrats, police officers, and diplomats. The examination is conducted annually and consists of three stages: preliminary, mains and interview.
Person with Benchmark Disability (PwBD)
Candidates with a Disability of more than 40% according to Indian law come under the benchmark disability. Though for all disabilities Unique Disability ID (UDID) are given to the individual after a detailed assessment by a team including a psychologist, a clinical psychologist, and doctors. The individuals with benchmark Disabilities are given a disability certificate as well. The certificate could be used further to prevail over the accommodation provided by the government in terms of education, jobs, medical bills, entrepreneurship, and others.
Goal of the Reform
The new policy aims at the following:
- Enhancing accessibility for PwBD
- Reducing any challenges and barriers related to commuting to the centre
- Promotes Inclusivity
Implementation of Decision
To make the decision come into play, the following guidelines would be considered:
- Based on the existing capacity of each centre, first seats would be allocated to PwBD, then to non-PwBD and finally to other candidates.
- Even if the centre reaches its full capacity, the PwBD will be able to choose that centre, and the arrangements will be made for the candidate. Therefore, no UPSC aspirant with PwBD would be denied the centre of their choice.
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