Wednesday, December 14, 2011

BERA Tests to check misuse of fake certification of hearing impairment


Dear Colleagues,

There have been incidences of misuse of Disability Certificates by persons not having required (40%) of disability to be eligible for the benefits available under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.

It has come to our notice that many persons who use voice cellphones regularly to call and receive a voice call have been claiming to be persons with disability (hearing impairment) and possessing fake disability certificates thereby taking away the benefits meant for the persons with hearing impairment in terms of Persons with Disability Act 1995.

To prevent irregularities in availing reservations for physically challenged persons, the authorities in Andhra Pradesh (India) are planning to adopt a new technology, the Brainstem Evoked Response Audiom-etry (BERA) system to ascertain hearing deformity of persons in the district.

The new system will become significant when candidates claim reservation under the hearing-impaired quota. There are a huge number of cases to prove that ineligible people have availed certificates from doctors when traditional tests like the simplified tone decay tests are used. “We have received many complaints that people possess certificates as hearing impaired and have been misusing the quota. We have been asking professionals to adopt a stringent mechanism that prevents irregularities,” said Mr V.V.S.S.N. Murthy, the assistant director, Depart-ment of Welfare for the disabled and senior citizens.

Government had decided that hearing deformity should be certified only at the ENT hospital at Koti in Hyderabad. The local medical board recommends patients as physically challenged for final certification. Normally, persons with deformity of more than 40 per cent can only be considered valid and hearing disability normally is associated with dumbness. But in most cases, there is no speech deformity.

This feature proves fake certification, say medical professionals.

Source:  Deccan Chronical