Special Needs Education

The Indian Parliament, for the first time, has legally endorsed the right of access for people with disability to education, vocational training and employment through the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunity, Protection of Rights and full Participation) Act, 1995. The Act establishes the responsibility of society to make adjustments, so that people with disability are able to overcome various practical hurdles, either created by their disability or by society itself. The Act places people with disability at par with other citizens of India, in respect to education, vocational training, and employment.

Understanding and accommodating students with disability has become a central focus for higher education. The students’ experience of disability remains towards the margin of higher education’s focus. Given enrolment trends, this status is ironic, but despite their increasing number, many students experiencing disability in many campuses/universities are viewed as different in ways that fails to affirm diversity or to facilitate their inclusion.

In this background, the University Grants Commission (UGC) vide its policy paper on education in the Ninth five-year plan has stated that persons with disability should not be ignored in the higher education system. It has recommended development of special education teacher preparation programme and also a scheme to provide special assistance to disabled persons to facilitate better accessibility in higher education to achieve better results with an objective to:

1. Encourage Universities/Colleges of Education in India to promote teacher preparation programmes in the field of special education.
2. Provide equal education opportunities and experiences to disabled persons in higher education institutions.
3. Create awareness among the functionaries of higher education about the specific educational needs of persons with disabilities.
4. Equip the higher education institutions with the facilities to provide access to disabled persons.
5. Provide appropriate financial assistance to disabled individuals to increase their sustainability in higher education.
6. Explore suitable placement for the educated disabled graduates in public as well as private sector enterprises.
7. Monitor the implication of all existing and future legislation and policies pertaining to higher education of persons with disabilities

Under the provision of facilities for the Promotion of Higher Education of Disabled Persons, the scheme has three components:

• Establishment of Disability Units in Universities/College
• Providing Access to Persons with Disability
• Providing Special Equipment to Augment the Educational Services for Disabled Persons

Disability Units in Universities/Colleges

It is a fact that Universities and Colleges are not fully aware of the needs of persons with disabilities in higher education. In order to develop awareness in the higher education system and also to provide necessary guidance and counselling to persons with disabilities, it is proposed to establish disability units in the Universities/ Colleges in the country. The purpose of this unit is to: 

• Facilitate admission of persons with disability,
• Provide guidance and counselling to disabled individuals
• Create awareness about the needs of persons with disabilities, and other general issues concerning disabilities, and
• Assist disabled graduates to gain successful employment in public as well as private sector

Providing Access to Persons with Disability

Where as providing access to persons with disabilities is concerned, it has been felt that persons with disabilities need special arrangements in the environment for their mobility and independent functioning. It is also fact that many institutes have architectural barriers and therefore persons with disabilities find it difficult for their day to day functioning in these places. While the new constructions in the universities and colleges are expected to address this issue in the light of the passing of the persons with disabilities Act, 1995, the existing structure in the higher education institutes should be made disability friendly. The institutes are encouraged to acquire special facilities such as ramps, rails, special toilets, and other necessities.

Special Equipment for Disabled Persons

Disabled persons require some special aids and appliances to cope up with their day-to-day functioning. These types of individual aids are available from the schemes of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. On the other hand, there is a need for special types of expensive equipment, which can be acquired by the institutes to cater to the needs of these persons. Availability of devices such as low vision aids, scanners, mobility devices, etc., in the institutes/ Universities would enrich the educational experiences of persons with disabilities and therefore, the Universities/ Colleges are encouraged to procure such useful devices in the future. 

Steps taken by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)

The UGC during the Ninth five-year plan has sanctioned a scheme of HEPSN (Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs) to JNU for disabled students in the University.

Equal Opportunity office of the University has set up the Disability Unit with expert review committee to consider the purchase of special equipment to augment educational services for disabled and to advise on other matters. Through this unit, presently University is providing Counselling services to Students with special needs, six days a week through university Health Centre, keeping in mind the problem of adjustment and other problems of psychological in nature faced by some of physically challenged students.

University Disability Unit is also assisting disabled graduates in getting successful employment in public as well as private sector and in this regard unit is in touch with various Non Governmental Organizations active in this field as well as some Government Institutions. As part of awareness programme, through volunteers unit is also in touch with the students with special needs to understand their problems and help them. Notices and pamphlets related to scheme to make the student community aware of these programmes are also put up and it is proposed that in future workshops and seminars would be organised as part of awareness programme.

The University already has 78 physically challenged students and some faculty members. Recently University has filled up two posts of Assistants Professors from the physically challenged. A computer based reading system with voice is already functional in the University’s Library for the blind students and some ramps have already been constructed in some hostels and various other buildings in the academic complex for smooth mobility of physically challenged students. The UGC Scheme of HEPSN will help the University further these efforts.

New Initiatives

1. To make University disabled friendly i.e., all school buildings, library and administrative blocks will be connected through ramps.
2. Employment opportunities for students with special needs will be explored.
3. Agencies providing financial benefits to physically challenged students will be short listed and contacted for creating endowments in JNU.
4. Facility of computer aided reading for blind students will be expanded in the Central library by the University.
5. A special wing of a hostel will be equipped with facilities like special gymnasium, recreational equipment, and special toilets.
6. Special toilets will be built in all buildings and the library 

For an Enabling Ambience

As we have seen, besides some programmes and schemes of Government to ensure children with disabilities should access to free education until the age of 18 years, there was not any programme or scheme for the persons with special needs to pursue their higher studies. The initiative taken by RCI and UGC and other institutions, Government and NGO’s are appreciable in this regard but still We are far behind in getting these goals and providing access to disabled persons in comparison to other countries. In this background, the steps taken by the UGC has been very positive to empower the disabled and cater higher Education to persons with special needs in Universities/ Colleges. Presently, The UGC Scheme of HEPSN is under operation in different Universities/ Colleges and we hope; in future this would be a landmark achievement in providing services to disabled.

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Anant Kumar, M. Phil., Rehabilitation Psychologist & Research Scholar is with the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi – 110067. Email: pandeyanant@hotmail.com

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