The Karnataka High Court has directed the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru to take a “liberal approach” regarding the subject of Economics, and enable a student suffering from dyscalculia to clear the first year of the course. The order was passed this Tuesday by a bench consisting of Justice R Devdas.
Dyscalculia is a learning disability that inhibits the ability of a person to perform arithmetic calculations or comprehend mathematical concepts. The student suffering from this disability had approached the high court seeking an alternate subject apart from Economics or an exemption, along with policies and resources to be put in place for disabled students.
NLSIU submitted before the court that the option to select a major or minor subject started only from the second year, in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Bar Council of India. Meanwhile, with the student being admitted in the batch of 2025-2030, the Economics I course had been replaced by two courses, Economy and Numbers.
The University submitted that, in accordance with a certificate submitted from NIMHANS by the student and keeping reasonable accommodations in mind, the petitioner could be admitted to History of Economic Thought instead of Numbers, while the exam and test papers for Economics could be adjusted for the student so that they would deal with economic concepts instead of calculations.
While observing that the student had ably argued the matter and understood the minutiae of the courtroom discussion, the bench stated regarding the submission of NLSIU, “this Court is of the considered opinion that the second respondent, NLSIU, has given the best options to the petitioner, having regard to the disability of the petitioner. The petitioner may opt for such a choice given by the second respondent, NLSIU.”
The court disposed of the petition directing that failure in Economics would not stop the petitioner from clearing the first year course provided all other subjects were cleared, stating, “If the petitioner clears all the other subjects and is not able to clear the subjects Economy and/or ‘History of Economic Thought’, a liberal approach shall be had to enable the petitioner to clear the first year course.”