Chennai: Allegations have surfaced that some government school headmasters in Tamil Nadu are reluctant to admit differently-abled students, citing concerns that poor performance in public examinations could affect the institutions' pass percentage.

The issue has come to the fore after the declaration of Class 12 board examination results on May 8, in which a significant number of differently-abled students who wrote the exams with the assistance of scribes reportedly failed.

With the Class 10 examination results expected next week, complaints have emerged that certain headmasters are hesitant to admit students with learning disabilities, visual impairment and intellectual disabilities.

According to headmasters, students with visual impairment, cognitive disabilities or those unable to write exams due to accidents are permitted to use scribes during public examinations.

Until recently, postgraduate teachers were allowed to serve as scribes in higher secondary examinations. However, from last year, graduate teachers were permitted to act as scribes, they said.

Headmasters claimed that postgraduate teachers, being subject experts, were previously able to better understand and record students' responses, particularly in subjects involving technical terminology and concepts.

Graduate teachers, who generally handle classes only up to Class 10, allegedly faced difficulties in accurately writing technical terms in subjects such as science and economics, resulting in answers being recorded only to the extent articulated by the students, they said.

As a result, the failure rate among differently-abled students increased, affecting overall school pass percentages by up to five per cent in some institutions, they claimed.

School authorities further said that pass percentages play a key role in student admissions and institutional performance indicators.

They urged the government, which advocates inclusive education by integrating differently-abled students into mainstream schools, to also provide suitable evaluation relaxations and support mechanisms to ensure fair assessment outcomes.

Some headmasters indicated that they would closely monitor the upcoming Class 10 results before deciding on the admission of students with learning and intellectual disabilities in the next academic year.