Amongst thousands of candidates sitting this year’s certificate examinations in the country are those with different forms of disability.

The 2016 national examinations organised amongst others by the Ministries of Basic Education, Secondary Education, the General Certificate of Education, GCE Board and the Office de Baccalaureat, are around the corner. In fact, some of these national or certificate-awarding examinations have already held, while others are underway.

Expectedly, among the hundreds of thousands of candidates sitting the various examinations at elementary, secondary and high school levels are physically-challenged candidates. In order to accommodate them into the scheme of things, special arrangements are often made for such candidates. In some instances, they are given longer periods to complete their scripts than their able-bodied counterparts.

The GCE Board has of recent been translating its questions into Braille to facilitate writing for the physically-challenged. This has in no small measure boosted their performance. On the other hand, some Special Education schools have employed the services of specialist teachers to handle their students with different forms of impairment. This has not only eased learning prior to examinations, but facilitates success in such certificate and national examinations.

Other measures to boost the participation of candidates with disabilities include ensuring that examination centres are accessible to those using White Canes or wheel chairs. Where Braille-translated questions scripts are not available, invigilators are provided to read out questions to visually-impaired candidates. While many Special Education schools and teachers are not yet available in the country, the increasing performance of physically-challenged candidates in national and certificate examinations suggests that authorities have been paying attention to the needs of such candidates.