Carol Taylor,a former chief executive of NESA who worked for the organisation for 30 years,said at least half a dozen reviews over many years have tried to address the disproportionate use of disability provisions.

She said the application and approval processes were rigorous,and students were not getting access to provisions they did not deserve. However,schools in lower socio-economic areas did not apply for them at the same rate as advantaged ones.

One issue was that families at some disadvantaged schools saw provisions as an admission that something was wrong with the student. They might also struggle with the process. At advantaged ones,parents and teachers understood how to navigate the system.

“It’s the cultural capital thing,and that impacts on education in all sorts of ways,” she said. “It’s a complex problem,it’s got all kinds of dimensions.”

The process was also costly for NESA,Ms Taylor said,as it had its own team to assess the applications,and it paid for the equipment,assistants and extra supervisors required if students needed more reading time or rest breaks.

Craig Petersen,the head of the Secondary Principals Council,said disability provisions could be a cultural issue within a school:in some,applications are sought-after while at others,there’s a stigma. But “if many of your peers are also receiving special provisions that if you don’t,there’s a potential for the fear that you’re somehow missing out,” he said.

However,high numbers of disability provisions made running the HSC “an absolute nightmare” for schools,Mr Petersen said. “Even if you take away what each sector is doing and who is paying for it,the more students you have on special provisions,the more complex the exercise,” he said.

A spokeswoman for NESA said students with provisions such as readers,scribes,rest break,extra time and anxiety disorders often did their exams in small groups,requiring their own supervisors. She said disability provisions represented a small but essential portion of the HSC budget.

“Over the past 18 months,NESA has been conducting workshops that aim to reach every school in NSW to provide on-the-ground advice and support to improve schools’ understanding of disability provisions,” she said.

“HSC disability provisions workshops aim to ensure all schools and school sectors know about and understand the program,and apply as needed.”

The chief executive of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW,Geoff Newcombe,said the program was open to all sectors. “AISNSW is not in a position to comment on why there are not more applications from schools in other sectors,” he said.

“All applications must be supported by documented evidence and there is a rigorous process for applications to be approved by NESA.”

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