The Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled and Caregivers has written to the Chief Minister asking for the deadline to submit applications to the Government Arts College to be extended. The Association said that several students, especially those with disabilities have been unable to apply and are losing out on opportunities just because they missed the deadline for no fault of their own.
In their letter, the Association says that the arts colleges across the state invited applications between July 21 and July 31, which gave students only 11 days to figure out how to apply. “Many people live in remote villages and the news about the deadline hadn’t even reached those living in these regions. Several regions don’t even have internet. Hundreds are suffering but the most severely affected are differently-abled students. These children now have to pay up a lot of money and join private colleges and this is despite that fact that they would have easily qualified for a government college seat,” they wrote.
With the lack of transport available, the students living in far-flung areas had no chance of hearing about the calling for applications, the members wrote. “The list of how many students applied hasn’t even been released yet. So it isn’t too late now, the government has to provide another week for students to be able to apply. This can be a huge opportunity for the poor. These students are eligible and shouldn’t be forced to apply to private institutes,” the Association members said.
The team is also offering their support to the students who would find it difficult to apply, “Many differently-abled candidates find it hard to access the online applications and need help. The government should announce and allow the candidates’ teachers to help them apply. The TARATDAC is also offering its complete help to the students, our members across the state are ready to assist the candidates.”
