Government should provide proper facilities for the handicapped
DADU, SINDH: I should like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards some issues concerning the HEC testing services. On 21 July 2019, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) conducted Law Assessment Test (LAT) in which I appeared. Being visually impaired, this was particularly hard for me.
My guardians had met and requested HEC-LAT officials had requested them to allow me to take the test with a helper who would read and write on my behalf. Fortunately they approved of it. But it came as a rude shock to me on the day of the test when the authorities did not allow the helper to enter the examination room.
I constantly tried to contact HEC and LAT officials but they didn’t attend my calls or could be of any help. This ordeal was particularly tough for me as, after my brother’s recent accidental death, I am my guardians’ only hope.
Finally, after much pleading, I was allowed a helper from the education department. The so-called ‘helper’ was instead causing more problems. He asked me to spell each and every word in nearly every sentence. This was very time consuming.
Furthermore, the helper was so inexperienced that he had to ask the invigilator to read some of the questions since he wasn’t able to read himself. His pronunciation was hard to comprehend and I had trouble understanding the questions. It was because of all of these reasons I wasn’t able to finish the paper on time.
It is highly depressing to see that there are no proper facilities for handicapped people not only in education but in all spheres of society. The government should provide proper facilities for the handicapped.
Shahzeb Ali Soomro
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2019.
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