National Education Policy 2020: An Assessment of Higher Educational Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in India

Abstract

Inclusive education has taken a center stage in the modern educational policy systems throughout the globe with the focus on fair access to good education by all learners irrespective of their physical, sensory, intellectual and socio-economic variations. Students with disabilities (SwDs) have traditionally had a hard time attending higher education in India because of the infrastructures, social stigma, unsuccessful institutional support, and policy implementation gaps. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a radical reform agenda aimed at changing the Indian education system by ensuring accessibility, equity, and inclusivity. Inclusion of socially and educationally disadvantaged groups such as students with disabilities in tertiary education institutions is one of the key areas of concern of the policy. This paper is a critical analysis of what NEP 2020 says in the area of disability inclusion in higher education and the level to which these provisions focus on the structural and institutional barriers confronting students with disabilities.