Hyderabad: Conjoined twins will have separate hall tickets for Class 10 board exam

HYDERABAD: After considering the request of conjoined twins Veena and Vani, the Telangana education department has decided to allow them to appear for the secondary school certificate (SSC) (class 10) examination separately.
Initially, officials were not sure whether to consider the girls as one or two individuals given that they are joined at the head. Medically, however, it is well established that conjoined twins are two separate individuals who are born physically attached.
B Venkata Narasamma, district education officer of Hyderabad, said that they will be issued separate hall tickets and provided with scribes, if needed, to assist them in writing the examination.“In November 2019, we had written to the state government for its direction on Veena and Vani’s case,” said Narasamma, adding that the decision, however, was made finally at the district level itself.
“The twins were keen on appearing for the examination separately. So, we have decided to go ahead and issue two separate hall tickets,” she said. The hall tickets will be issued in the first week of March.
However, district child welfare officer K Jhansi, who is taking care of the conjoined twins, said that they were yet to receive any communication from the education department. “We did not receive any information on whether the twins will be issued one or two hall tickets,” said Jhansi.
The conjoined twins, who are children of M Murali and Nagalakshmi from Mahabubabad district, spent a major part of their lives at Niloufer Hospital. At the age of 12, the 2003-born twins, were shifted to a state home in the city.
The education department has deputed teachers at the state home to prepare Veena and Vani for the SSC examinations.