Representative photo
AIIMS experts have found that senior doctors of Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) wrongly certified two hearing impaired NEET-qualified students as ineligible for reservation for persons with disabilities (PWD). Despite their Unique Disability ID stating that the percentage of disability of the two candidates was 63% and 50%, the three-member LHMC board certified them as 14% and 2% respectively.An AIIMS board was constituted on the Delhi High Court’s direction after the two students filed against the certification. After conducting a battery of tests, the AIIMS experts certified the two candidates’ disability level as 66.5% and 43.13%. This incident has raised questions about other candidates who might have been disqualified by the same board, but who could not afford to approach the court.Based on the AIIMS report, the court ordered that the two candidates be allowed to participate in the second round of counselling for MBBS admission. Wrong certification by the LHMC doctors led to them missing the first round of counselling.Disability rights activists have demanded an enquiry into the certification process in LHMC and against the doctors who wrongly certified the students. The LHMC medical board consisted of Prof Dr A Chakravati and assistant professors Dr Pallika Kumar and Dr Raman Kumar. Unique disability ID, issued by designated health authorities, was launched as asingle document of identification and verification of the disabled for availing various benefits in future. Only those whose disability level is 40% or above are eligible for the 5% disability quota seats in MBBS admission.“Much uproar is raised over fake disability certificates, but who questions the doctors on three-member medical boards who arbitrarily assign percentages? With clearly gazetted assessment guidelines in place, how can 50-60% suddenly shrink to 2% or 14%? These are not mere mistakes, but grave blunders that crush students’ careers and amount to medical negligence,” said Dr Satendra Singh, a founder member of Doctors with Disabilities: Agents of Change, India’s largest network of health professionals with disabilities. Dr Singh demanded that accountability be fixed for this negligence.The candidates were evaluated clinically and audiologically through five different tests. The first two (Pure Tone Audiometry and Speech audiometry) are subjective hearing tests as response depends upon the cooperation of the patients. However, the next three (Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry or BERA/ABR, otoacoustic emission and impedance audiometry) are objective hearing test that do not require the cooperation of the patient and therefore are being utilized with an increased frequency for detecting malingering or to determine if a candidate is feigning a higher level of hearing loss. BERA, which is the test that provides clinching evidence, is available in most physiology and ENT departments in Delhi hospitals.
