Maharashtra govt to HC: Special board for assessment of disabilities in offing

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Wdnesday that it is going to set up a special medical board for assessment of disabilities of the students who want to pursue medical courses under the quota for the disabled. A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Sadhana Jadhav was hearing a petition filed by a city-based medical student who suffers from dyslexia (learning disability). Dr Faisal Porkar, in his petition filed through advocate Pooja Thorat, had raised the issue of his difficulty in getting a certificate from the state-run All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AIIPMR).

The AIIPMR is one of the four medical boards notified by the state government which can assess 'intellectual disability' for the purpose of admissions to postgraduate medical courses under the quota for 'Persons with Disabilities (PwD)'. Porkar approached the AIIPMR for the assessment of his disability. But the institute said it is authorised to assess only locomotor disabilities, and it can not give him a certificate about dyslexia. He moved the high court, demanding that he should be considered eligible for admission to a post-graduate medical course under the PwD category for 2018-19 academic year on the basis of his past medical record.

The state government today submitted a copy of a letter it has sent to the Union Directorate General of Health Services, seeking guidelines for setting up a special medical board to help PwD students in getting required certificates. The court said the state government should inform about the progress in this regard within a week, and adjourned the hearing.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever