HC: Formulate special policy for students with disabilities  

The High Court (HC) has issued a directive to formulate a guideline for evaluating the 'answer sheets' in public examinations of students with disabilities within three months; the directive comes in connection with a supplementary petition filed this year.

The HC ordered the Secretary to the Ministries of Education along with the Secretary to the Ministry of Social Welfare; Chairperson of the Board of Education; and the controllers of public examinations to implement the directive.

HC also ordered to reassess the answer-sheet of AFM Mostofa Masud, a student at Mohammadpur Government High School with cerebral palsy, and re-publish his SSC result based on the reassessment.

The HC bench, consisting of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader, delivered the verdict in AFM Mostofa Masud's case on August 22.

The full text of the verdict has been released recently. A writ petition was filed by Masud's father, Advocate Mostafizur Rahman, a Lawyer at the supreme court. Advocate Julhash Uddin Ahmed stood on behalf of the writ-petitioner.

According to the documents of the case, Masud appeared in the Junior School Certificate (JSC) exam from Mohammadpur Government High School in 2016. His father requested the board of education to reassess his answer sheets, as he did not pass in two subjects.

However, the education board turned down his request; and Mostafizur Rahman filed a writ-petition in 2017. After hearing on the writ, the court passed verdict in favour of Masud; and, subsequently, was shown to pass.

This year, Masud sat for the SSC exam; he did not pass in mathematics and Bangladesh and Global Studies (BGS).

Advocate Mostafizur Rahman, Masud's father, requested Dhaka Education Board to reassess his answer sheets in those exams. After reassessment, Masud got 33 in math with the result in the BGS remaining the same.

Masud's father filed a supplementary petition with the HC, seeking direction regarding re-evaluation of both of the answer-sheets.

The court heard the petition, and finally passed the verdict on the boy's favour on August 22.