§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what provision is made by the examining boards and educational institutions to give time and assistance to disabled people to reply to questions at examinations; if there have been any recent developments in this area; if his Department has had discussions with local authorities and examining bodies to clarify the position; and if he will now make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonAll the GCE and CSE examination boards make allowances for the specific difficulties experienced by candidates with certain handicaps for example by permitting the education institutions concerned to provide special facilities such as an amanuensis or to make arrangements for the use of a typwriter. However, policies may vary from one examination board to another, and the Government have expressed the desire for a common approach to the problems faced by candidates of this kind.
139WBearing in mind the need to maintain the standards implied by the award of a certificate as well as giving all pupils an equal opportunity to demonstrate their attainments to this end, my right hon. Friend has asked the joint council of GCE and CSE boards to submit for his approval, by the end of this year, criteria for the assessment of handicapped candidates as one element of the proposed reform of examinations at 16-plus.