Out of 38 applicants, few required assistance in the written test that was arranged by Real Solutions in coordination with National Federation of the Disabled- Nepal. The assistants to help such people in writing were very happy to get opportunities and learn different things away from their daily routines.
“It was a wonderful experience to be involved in such activity”, says Ms. Chandra Gurung, who wrote the exam for a visually impaired candidate, Ms. Anita Bhattarai. “Though she was visually impaired and couldn’t write on her own, she was very smart analytically and logically.” she added.
This experience provided an opportunity to identify the challenges of conducting exams, especially for people with disabilities. The candidate was enthusiastic and well prepared to face the challenge. According to Mr. Sunil Mahato, a representative for another visually impaired candidate, the candidate found difficulty in translating the questions from English to Nepali language. Since the candidate had a degree from Nepali medium college, she faced difficulty in understanding questions and answering in English language.
Including physically challenged group in the traineeship programme did provide a different perspective of a workforce. Unlike normal assessments, more preparations are needed in these cases. “A small orientation program before the exams would have been very helpful for the visually impaired candidates”, said Mr. Abhisek Bhakta Shrestha, a representative for the third visually impaired candidate at the exam. He found that the candidate seemed to be less prepared and nervous since it was the first time she had attended such program.
Of total 1265 applications received from all over Nepal, 465 candidates were shortlisted for the written exam. Through the written test, the candidates were evaluated in terms of General Knowledge, Technical knowledge, Logical reasoning, Verbal Abilities, Quantitative Analysis and Analytical Writing.
