Madras Christian College built an AI voice-to-text tool so blind students can dictate exam answers without a human scribe.

What the college is doing

Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chennai plans to bring in its own AI software, called Voice Chat Scribe, so that visually challenged students can write exams by themselves. Principal Prof Dr P Wilson told DT Next that fewer volunteers now come forward to act as scribes, and that a human scribe does not always write down exactly what a student says.

The report names two more problems with the current system. Scribes can make mistakes while writing, and they can sometimes sway a student's answer without meaning to.

How the tool works

Students speak their answers in English into a secure platform. The voice-to-text engine was built by student interns at the MCC-MRF Innovation Park in Tambaram.

Students can use voice commands or keyboard shortcuts to move between questions, replay audio prompts and check how many words they have written. Spoken commands also handle formatting, such as bold text, underlining, subheadings and moving paragraphs around. The software keeps commands apart from the dictated answer, so instructions do not end up in the script.

According to DT Next, the system is designed to recognise speech accurately in English and Tamil. It runs on a restricted, closed server to prevent malpractice.

What happens next

The decision came out of talks with the Office of the Controller of Examinations, deans, heads of departments and the college's support team for differently abled students. MCC also works with the Help the Blind Foundation on skill training.

The tool is expected to be used first for the third internal continuous assessment, ahead of the November 2026 semester exams. Before that, the college plans training sessions and dry runs for visually challenged students and the nodal officers in each department.