Digital and Remedial Support Gaps Persist for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Policy Versus Practice

India's higher education policy framework increasingly talks about inclusion, backed by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 and guidelines from the University Grants Commission. Despite these measures, a lack of remedial support makes students with disabilities vulnerable to academic exclusion. Limited digital access further restricts their use of online learning resources, digital libraries, and academic databases. Most recently, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities listed accessibility standards issued by the Ministry of Education on June 25, 2024. The UGC expects every higher educational institution to build accessibility mechanisms from admission to course completion, and issued fresh directions for universities to submit statistical reports through the Universities Activity Monitoring Portal by September 30, 2026.

Expert Insights

Institutional attention often focuses on admission, reservation, and physical infrastructure while ignoring what happens after a student enters college. Dr. Satendra Singh, a disability rights activist and professor at the University College of Medical Sciences in Delhi, notes that national statistics measure how many students enter higher education but fail to track what happens to them afterward. Dr. Sanjay Kant Prasad, Director of the National Centre for Disability Studies at IGNOU, points out that the 21 categories of disabilities under the RPwD Act have diverse needs requiring specific academic and assistive support rather than just ramps and braille. Meanwhile, Dr. Rajeshwari Muthukumaran, Assistant Professor at Christ University, highlights that while some students enter higher education equipped with personal tools and strategies from school, resource gaps persist in Braille materials, accessible typefaces, and faculty trained in inclusive curricula.