TN removes Clause asking PWD NEET PG candidates to send photos of disability

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Government has recently removed a "discriminatory clause" that made it mandatory for the PWD candidates seeking PG medical and dental admissions, for attaching images of their "deformity".

Issuing a notification in this regard, the Secretary to the Selection Committee of DME, Dr. R Muthuselvan mentioned, "The serial number 4 in the special category form for the person with disabilities in the prospectus of the post graduate degree / diploma and MDS Courses in government medical/dental colleges, government quota in self-financing medical/dental colleges for 2022-23 session is deleted."

The State DME has further mentioned that the candidates who want to be considered for admission under the special category "may submit their recent passport-size image (taken within three months) displaying the person with disability's face exclusively in the enclosed format of the special category."

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Such a move comes swiftly after a disability rights advocate Dr, Satendra Singh had filed a complaint in this regard before the State Commission for the Welfare of the Differently abled.

As per the latest media report by News 18, filing the complaint on Wednesday, Dr. Singh, who is a professor at the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) at Delhi University had claimed that such a clause was against the medical ethics. Besides, he had also urged the Court to "penalise the respondents, ask them to immediately issue a corrigendum removing the clause."

According to the previous Clause, in order to secure admission into postgraduate degree and certificate programmes in government medical institutions, and also the government seats in the state's self-financing medical colleges, the specially abled candidates had to attach a photo to exhibit their deformity.

Finally the State DME has removed the clause in  the special category form for the person with disabilities and end the practice of discrimination in PG medical and dental admission in Tamil Nadu.

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