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Latest News |
| 19th
January 2010 / Times of India / Mumbai Edition |
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After CBSE, state board comes to aid
of autistic kids
Mumbai: A year after the CBSE allowed concessions for
autistic children appearing for the all-important Class
X exams, the state board is following suit.
Starting with the SSC exams in March 2010, students with
autism can avail of a slew of concessions—from appearing
for exams in their own school, extra time for papers and
opting for lower level maths—said state education
board chairperson Vijaysheela Sardesai. The SSC board
has decided to implement the concessions for Std IX and
X autistic students.
“We have decided to implement
these concessions starting from the upcoming 2010 board
exams. We have sent the letter to the divisional board,’’
said Sardesai. However, when TOI called up Sridhar Salunkhe,
chairperson of the Divisional Board, Mumbai, on Monday,
he said that he had not received the letter. “We
do not know anything about it as we haven’t received
any letter on this issue from the SSC board,’’
he said.
While CBSE has been implementing these concessions for
over a year, the appeal to SSC board was made in last
April. “Even though the SSC board had decided to
grant the concessions last April, it was yet to be implemented
as they wanted to fine-tune the proposal,’’
said Chitra Iyer, president of Forum For Autism, a parental
support group, who had first raised the demand for concessions.
“If the concessions are being implemented from this
year itself, then it really is a relief for us. My son
is in Std IX and is autistic. He will be giving his board
exams next year. But it really is very difficult for him
to learn as fast as other children. He, like all autistic
children, hates to write. I just wish the concessions
were given to him at an earlier stage, so it would have
been less difficult for him to pass the lower classes,’’
said Suniti Roshan, a Kandivli resident.
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