Govt informs SC about NCERT guidelines for development of e-content for children with disabilities

NEW DELHI: The NCERT has brought out guidelines for the development of e-content for children with disabilities which would be applicable for school education, the Centre has told the Supreme Court. The government has said the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has also conducted face-to-face training orientation programmes for teachers and other stakeholders in some states during 2022-2023.

The Centre has filed an affidavit in the apex court which is hearing a plea by Javed Abidi Foundation seeking directions to issue specific guidelines to ensure that students with disabilities participate equally with others in online classes. The matter came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, referred to the government's affidavit filed in the matter. Advocate Sanchita Ain, appearing for the petitioner, referred to the November 8 verdict delivered by the apex court in another matter. In that verdict, the top court had directed the Centre to implement mandatory accessibility standards within three months.

The bench said the issue involved in this petition "overlaps" with those raised in the plea in which the top court had delivered the November 8 verdict. "Therefore, it will be appropriate that both these matters are heard together and considered simultaneously," the bench said.

It asked the apex court registry to list the plea filed by the foundation along with the petition on which the verdict was delivered. In its affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre has said in order to look into the suggestions submitted by the petitioner and to suggest the guidelines for inclusive digital education for all, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities had constituted an inter-ministerial committee in February 2022.

Also read Mothers cook, doctors are male: Southern textbooks more sexist than NCERT, ‘Hindi-belt’ ones, says study

NCERT guidelines for e-content

It said in its first meeting held on February 25, 2022, the committee constituted six sub-committees, one each at the level of the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education, NCERT, the Central Board of Secondary Education and Rehabilitation Council of India to look into the suggestions made by petitioner.

The affidavit said the committee had advised these institutions to frame the draft guidelines to give effect to the workable suggestions by focusing on aspects like accessibility of physical environment, accessibility of content and training of teachers. It said the UGC, AICTE and NCTE are regulatory bodies with respect to universities including higher educational institutions, technical education and teacher education respectively.

It said the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is the regulatory body with respect to rehabilitation education under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. "The guidelines as framed by UGC and AICTE have already been circulated to all universities/institutions," it said, adding that guidelines instructions as have been issued by these organisations will be applicable to respective categories of higher educational institutions.

"NCERT has brought out guidelines for the development of e-content for children with disabilities which would be applicable for school education," it said. The affidavit said NCTE accessibility guidelines have been issued for compliance by respective institutions. "RCI, which has not framed separate guidelines, has adopted and circulated UGC guidelines to all the approved institutions to strictly follow the same," it said.