The Ministry of Education (MoE) on January 12, 2024, notified the “Accessibility Code for Educational Institutions”.
The following has been stated: -
•The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education notified the “Accessibility Code for Educational Institutions” as detailed in Annexure-I in line with the National Educational Policy 2020 and Goal-4 of SDG 2030 of providing inclusive and equitable education to all by 2030 in a phased manner in line with the NEP 2020 implementation framework.
•Chapter 1 discusses about the current situation and this Code examines the physical barriers and information & communication barriers of access to school facilities for children with disabilities. It also provides in detail cross disabilities and child-friendly standards with cost-effective solutions for existing buildings, as well as all-encompassing elements to make new buildings compliant with national accessibility standards. Experience from research, access audits of schools both in rural and urban settings, training, and user group inputs is the foundation of the Code. Essential and non-negotiable universal design elements are provided with easy-to-understand line drawings, illustrations, and photos of best practices for all those who advocate for and implement an accessible environment and help facilitate finding the right answers or solutions for even the most complex issues.
The code focuses on identifying obstacles and barriers in the physical infrastructure (indoor & outdoor facilities) and in the communication & learning ecosystem of educational institutions and offers cost-effective solutions for the same. The code is discussed below as follows:
Highlights the need for an inclusive environment in schools, the convergence of communication & universal design in learning and defining stakeholders;
Provides in-depth information on the national physical infrastructure accessibility standards for schools and educational institutions. The physical accessibility standards in the Code are referred from the National Building Code 2016, Harmonized Guidelines and Space Standards for Persons with Disabilities, 2016, and Indian Roads Congress, Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities, ‘IRC 103: 2012’. Universal Design principles are applied to provide solutions for children with cross disabilities Experience from research, access audits, and user group inputs are the foundation of this Code.
•Chapter 2 talks about the defining stakeholders like the Parents and Caregivers.
•Chapter 3 talks about the barriers and identification of these barriers.
A barrier is defined as “anything that prevents a person with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of society because of his or her disability”. In other words, barriers occur when places and activities that all people should have access to, are designed in ways that limit such access. Barriers limit activities that people with disabilities can do, the places they can go, or the attitudes of others toward them. For example, heavy doors are barriers for people with limited upper body movement. These types of doors prevent people from entering and using building elements.
The detailed notification is given in the document attached below.
[Notification No. F. No. 9-4/2022-IS.18.]
