Ashoka University Organises Conclave on Disability Inclusion: Aims to Submit a White Paper to the Government
New Delhi : Ashoka University hosted a conclave titled, ‘The Future of Disability Inclusion in Higher Education’, with a vision to make higher education more inclusive in India and create an environment that empowers differently abled students. The conclave was organised by the Office of Learning Support (OLS) at the university, witnessing participation of stakeholders from the Central Government and non-governmental organisations.
Furthermore, it witnessed the participation of representatives from various higher education institutions, including IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IIIT Banglore, IGNOU, OP Jindal Global University, St. Xavier’s College, Ambedkar University, BITS Pilani, Thapar University, Azim Premji University, Plaksha University, Krea University, SRM University and Bennett University.
Delivering the keynote address, Vineet Singhal, Director of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, stated that despite a policy of reservation in higher education, we still lag far behind in making the environment all-inclusive for differently abled students. He remarked that access to both physical and digital infrastructure and inadequate curriculum delivery methods continue to be the biggest barriers. Talking about the conclave, he stated that such deliberations by stakeholders are necessary as they offer valuable insights to the government.
Echoing the sentiment, Dr. Manju Singh, former Joint Secretary, New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, University Grants Commission (UGC), stated that the journey towards inclusion has just begun. Talking about the NEP, she stated that it is a clarion call to break down barriers, in relation to physical abilities, neurodiversity, gender identities, as well as other social hierarchies. She emphasised upon the implementation of new accessibility guidelines and standards developed by UGC such as providing specialised tools and need based assessments to enhance educational support for differently abled students. She further called for greater collaboration among stakeholders, to address challenges such as financial constraints, inaccessible course content, or inadequate teacher training programmes.
The Office of Learning Support at Ashoka University is developing a white paper on improving inclusivity in higher education in India. The conclave focused on building synergy and gathering insights from representatives and experts, facilitating the development of the paper. The university aims to submit these synthesised suggestions to the government in the future.
Talking about Ashoka University’s vision towards inclusion, Somak Raychaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University, said, “We firmly believe that differently abled students should never be prevented from attaining a world class education. This conclave is part of many dialogues that we plan to take forward, creating pathways for the exchange of best practises, experiences, and research among institutions, enabling us to collectively improve.” He further remarked, “At Ashoka University, we lay equal emphasis on addressing invisible forms of different abilities, such as chronic illnesses or neuro-divergence. It is crucial that we build capacities across campuses in the country to both identify and address such invisible forms.”
Talking about the progress made by the university, Reena Gupta, Director, Office of Learning Support, Ashoka University, mentioned that they started with a vision for inclusion of students with invisible disabilities back in 2015 and today they support students with all kinds of visible and invisible disabilities. At least 3% of the entire student body on campus comprises differently abled students today. She further stated that the university has robust systems that enable mobility, accommodations, learning aids, and support during their study years at Ashoka. Also, over the years, the culture on campus has evolved to a level where the entire student community now plans for integrating accessibility features into all their events. Going forward, they want to build multi-stakeholder partnerships to make disability inclusion a norm in higher education in India.
The conclave also featured a workshop titled, ‘Unpacking the Vision of Inclusive Higher Education through the Lens of Disability,’ moderated by Neha Trivedi, Founder, Spandan: Inclusion and Accessibility Consultancy Services. The participants deliberated in focused sub-groups to generate solutions for a wide range of challenges, such as addressing social stigmas, closing gaps in research, support services, or recruitment processes. It resulted in consensus on the adoption of several measures, such as the establishment of experience-sharing platforms among and within institutions or the inclusion of individuals with different abilities in decision-making roles.