Top universities failing students with disabilities while basking in NIRF glory

The Hindu

3 days ago

For Mohd Aslam, a PhD scholar at the Centre for West Asian Studies (CWAS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), life has never been convenient even while studying at one of the premier institutions in India. Aslam, who is a visually impaired student, faces so many difficulties starting from commuting around campus that doesn't have braille-incorporated sign boards to a lack of sufficient assistive systems and accessible restrooms across all departments.
Facilities for the Differently Abled, despite being one of the main aspects of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), still remain far from expected levels. JNU, which achieved 2nd position in NIRF University Rankings 2024, seems to be no exception.
'A national university like JNU can do much better than what it offers to the students at the moment. The university does not provide screen readers or any other assistive tools for differently-abled students. No audio learning materials have been provided so far, and most journal subscriptions have long expired. Even basic research-assistive software is missing,' says Aslam.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Himanshu Gautam, a master's student at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), which ranked 8th in the NIRF ranking, said providing sufficient materials in digital readable format is still not a priority in his campus. 'The university does not provide most of the important materials in digital formats like epub in its e-library. Despite being one of the biggest libraries in the country, there is no initiative to fix this. Besides, there is no effort to educate students who are reluctant due to their social and financial backgrounds to use these facilities,' he said.
However, Aparna A, a master's student of Pondicherry University, which ranked 68th in previous NIRF ranking, says that their reading room and library of the campus is relatively disabled-friendly in terms of assistive devices provided to the students. 'The university offers a special reading room with assistive devices such as screen reader for students with disabilities. However, there are no audio learning materials to access. However, the building still doesn't have a ramp, making it hard for them to access without any difficulties,' she said.
Aparna pointed out that lack of braille incorporated sign boards is an issue in the campus. 'For persons with visual impairment like me, it is a major hurdle to commute within the campus. There is no real effort to change it despite personally raising it to the officials. Also, they provide very few braille books for students to refer to,' said Aparna.
Government mandates
The Union government announced several financial assistance to differently-abled students over the years. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) is offering ₹2,000–₹3,000 per month as maintenance allowance to each student in HEIs across India. The Department also provides financial assistance through reimbursing tuition fees up to ₹2 lakh per annum, ₹30,000 for the purchase of aids and assistive devices, and book grant of ₹5,000 per annum through its 'Top Class Education Scholarship for Students with Benchmark Disabilities'. On top of these, universities like JNU and DU offer reader and transport allowances of ₹3,000, along with providing assistive devices through their Equal Opportunity Cell.
Students claim that all these schemes have long delays in disbursing their assistance. 'The ₹3,000 reading allowance is usually released just once a year, and that too after significant delays. Although we reach out to them with memorandums, they just pass the buck without providing any solutions,' says Aslam.
Students say that despite the poor infrastructure on the campus most of the universities are providing free education to differently-abled students. 'Although we are not getting any special financial assistance, all our fees are being exempted. We never had to worry about fee remittance affecting our academics in the campus,' said Gautam.
Lack of maintenance
The lack of maintenance of facilities provided to differently-abled students is a major concern shared by students across campuses in India. Aslam recounted a troubling interaction with the JNU administration after students submitted a memorandum demanding accessible pathways to campus dhabas. According to them, the administration allegedly responded by saying the dhabas would be made accessible—but only by shutting them down entirely. 'As dhabas are run by poor people, who have no authority on the campus, the administration easily muzzled our demand. This is the kind of response we often receive when seeking support,' said Aslam.
The JNU has three disability-friendly hostels on campus—two for boys and one for girls. 'There is little or no maintenance happening across the campus. While the washrooms are comparatively better, there is still room for improvement. There are also no transportation facilities to move around the campus,' he said.
Aparna revealed that Pondicherry university lacks a lot in providing basic infrastructure. 'The roads to commute between various departments aren't well-built here. It causes immense problems for students facing mobility issues. The rush to catch buses plying across campuses during the peak hours is a herculean task. Though the University admin promised to start a special bus service for persons with disabilities, nothing has materialised yet,' she says.
She added the university is taking no measures to control strays within the campus. 'It scares students with disabilities almost all day whenever they step out of their hostels. They can't move around safely and independently in such a condition. There is no proper maintenance of washrooms in the hostels. They aren't bothered to clean the premises and remove garbage on time despite raising complaints several times,' she said.
Gautam elucidated that more needs to be executed to improve the lives of students within Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). 'Compared to several other universities in North India, AMU offers a fairly satisfying physical infrastructure to the students. However, basic amenities like washrooms are still poorly maintained,' he said.
Prof. Manvendra Kumar Pundhir, Coordinator of Disability Unit, Aligarh Muslim University, says they have taken several measures to improve the facilities for differently-abled students within the campus. 'We are providing 5% reservation for PWD candidates in admissions and 4% in all appointments across the AMU. We are not charging any fee from the students and all our buildings are equipped with ramps for free movement of students and staff,' he said.
Prof. Pundhir said plans are in the pipeline to take the campus to the next level in terms of inclusivity. 'We are not claiming that we are a 100% disability-friendly campus. There are several shortcomings and we are in the process of rectifying them. The university is planning to introduce braille scripts in all sign boards across the campus and pave tactile-tiles across all pathways within the campus. We are also aiming to provide modern assistive devices and software in the near future,' he added.
What NIRF can do
'Differently abled students are facing immense discrimination in terms of financial assistance offered by the universities as well as facilities provided within the campus. Nowadays, the diversity index has become the core of the entire academic planning of universities across the country. University administrations are more bothered about improving the ranking than addressing actual problems. The majority of the institutions are not maintaining the actual data of differently-abled students enrolling in colleges. If the data is inconsistent, the entire planning will be affected,' said Vikas Gupta, a professor of History at the University of Delhi, who has been working for the disability rights front to improve the lives of students and staff across educational institutions in India.
Prof. Gupta, who is visually-impaired, said that there is 'regression' in the facilities offered to students with disability in Delhi University and affiliated colleges over the years. The transport service that used to help all students, including persons with disabilities, to travel across Delhi University campuses was discontinued around 5-6 years ago. 'The administration has stopped reading services for students who struggle with their academics. They also stopped the pool of writers offered to the students to assist them during their examinations. The financial assistance to PWD students, which started back in the 80s, has been curtailed to a merit-based list of students instead of entailing all who enrolled in higher education courses. When merit itself is a social construct, the shift to merit over need has led to wider disparity of support among the students. The entire process has become exclusionary,' said Prof. Gupta.
He suggests that proactive measures are required to improve the assistance provided to students with disability rather than prioritizing NIRF ranking. 'Instead of blindly following the data provided by University management, a notice should be sent in advance to all disabled students to discuss their grievances before giving a rank to a particular institution. The appointment to bodies like the ICC must be based on seniority and roster instead of personal preferences. The focus should shift from building dedicated hostels and schools to making all educational spaces inclusive and accessible to every student,' added Prof. Gupta.
Attempts were made to reach out to the managements of JNU and Pondicherry University via phone calls and email. There has been no response.
Provisions in the RPWD Act, 2016
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, introduced by the Union government, guarantees several provisions for the welfare of students and staff with disabilities on campus. Some of them are as follows:
Non-discrimination in admission: Institutions cannot deny admission to a student with disability on the basis of their disability.
Inclusive education: The Act mandates inclusive classrooms with reasonable accommodations, support systems, and individualized learning strategies to ensure effective participation.
Accessibility in infrastructure: Schools, colleges, and universities must ensure barrier-free access to buildings, labs, libraries, hostels, and classrooms.
Trained educators: Institutions must appoint educators and staff trained in inclusive education and disability awareness.
Provision of aids and assistive devices: Learners with disabilities are entitled to free assistive devices, appropriate technologies, and accessible learning materials.
Curriculum adaptation: Educational content should be inclusive, free from stereotypes, and available in accessible formats like Braille, audio, and sign language.
Grievance redressal: The act ensures a mandatory establishment of a grievance redressal mechanism to handle complaints related to disability rights violations.
Reservation in Higher Education: At least 5% seats must be reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities in all government and aided higher education institutions.
Prevention of Abuse and Discrimination: Institutions are required to prevent abuse, bullying, and harassment of students with disabilities, with defined protocols for action.
Monitoring and Compliance: Educational bodies must submit compliance reports and are subject to inspection by appropriate authorities.