Unit V: Policies, legislation, schemes and provisions

Salient features of NPE 1986 and NEP 2020-Education of hearing impaired

The transition from NPE 1986 to NEP 2020 represents a massive philosophical shift in India from “Integration” (fitting the disabled child into the existing system) to “Inclusion” (transforming the system to accommodate every child).

National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986

The NPE 1986 (along with its Program of Action in 1992) was a landmark policy because it officially recognized the need to bring children with disabilities out of isolation and integrate them into the general community as equal partners.

Salient Features for the Hearing Impaired:

• Integrated Education for Mild Impairments: The policy mandated that children with mild to moderate hearing impairments should be integrated into normal, general schools alongside their neurotypical peers.
• Special Schools for Severe Impairments: For children with severe to profound deafness who could not cope in general classrooms, the policy recommended setting up specialized schools with hostel facilities at the district and state levels.
• Vocational Training: It placed a heavy emphasis on providing vocational training to the hearing impaired to prepare them for independent living and employment, acknowledging that standard academic paths might not be accessible to all.
• Teacher Training: The policy initiated the reorientation of general teacher training programs to include elements of special education, enabling regular teachers to identify and handle minor hearing impairments.
• Aids and Appliances: The government committed to providing necessary assistive devices, such as hearing aids, free of cost or at subsidized rates to ensure students could access auditory information.
• Voluntary Effort: The policy strongly encouraged and funded Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and voluntary agencies to take the lead in establishing institutions for the deaf.

National Education Policy (NEP), 2020

NEP 2020 aligns strictly with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. It completely abandons the segregation model in favor of full, systemic Inclusive Education.

Salient Features for the Hearing Impaired:

• Standardization of Indian Sign Language (ISL): NEP 2020 is revolutionary for the Deaf community as it officially mandates the standardization of ISL across the country.
• Curriculum Development in ISL: National and State curriculum materials are explicitly required to be developed in Indian Sign Language to ensure deaf students can learn subjects in their native, accessible language.
• Role of NIOS: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is tasked with developing high-quality modules to teach ISL, as well as providing educational content adapted for students with hearing loss.
• Total Inclusion: The policy guarantees that children with all severities of hearing impairment have the fundamental right to attend regular schools from foundational stages to higher education.
• Barrier-Free Infrastructure: Schools are mandated to become entirely barrier-free, which for hearing-impaired students means acoustically treated classrooms to reduce background noise and the installation of visual alerts (like flashing fire alarms).
• Assistive Technology Integration: The policy heavily pushes the use of appropriate educational technology, text-to-speech software, captioning on digital content, and smartboards to bridge the communication gap in classrooms.
• Cross-Disability Teacher Training: Unlike 1986, NEP 2020 mandates that all B.Ed. programs include robust cross-disability training, meaning every new general educator must know basic inclusion strategies for deaf students, not just special educators.

Feature	NPE 1986	NEP 2020
Core Philosophy	Integration: Child must adapt to the school.	Inclusion: School must adapt to the child.
Placement	Mildly impaired in regular schools; severely impaired in Special Schools.	Full inclusion in mainstream schools regardless of the severity of the disability.
Primary Language Focus	Unspoken assumption of Oralism (teaching lip-reading and speech).	Explicit promotion and standardization of Indian Sign Language (ISL).
Legal Framework	Welfare-based approach.	Rights-based approach (aligned with RPwD Act 2016).
Teacher’s Role	Special educators handle severe cases; general teachers handle mild cases.	General and special educators co-teach; all teachers receive cross-disability training.

NEP2020-Enrolment, Retention-Remediation and Reentry to reduce dropout of students with hearing impairment- assessment for learning and improvement-paradigm shift in teaching and learning

Enrolment of Students with Hearing Impairment

NEP 2020 aims for a 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030. For students with hearing impairment, the policy outlines specific strategies to ensure they enter the education system early and seamlessly.

• Early Identification and ECCE: The policy emphasizes Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). For children with hearing loss, early identification at the preschool level ensures that interventions (like hearing aids or sign language introduction) begin during the critical period of language development.
• Standardization of ISL: Recognizing Indian Sign Language (ISL) as a standardized language across the country acts as a massive catalyst for enrolment. Deaf children are no longer forced into purely oral environments, making schools far more accessible and welcoming from day one.
• Barrier-Free Infrastructure: Schools are mandated to become physically and acoustically barrier-free. This includes ensuring classrooms are acoustically treated to reduce background noise for students using hearing aids or cochlear implants.
• Neighborhood Schools: The policy reinforces the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, ensuring that children with hearing impairment have the fundamental right to enroll in their local, mainstream neighborhood schools rather than being forced to travel to distant special schools.

Retention, Remediation, and Reentry (Reducing Dropouts)

Children with hearing impairment historically face high dropout rates due to communication barriers and academic frustration. NEP 2020 tackles this through a three-pronged approach.

Retention (Keeping Students in School)

• Accessible Learning Materials: National and State curriculum materials are required to be developed in ISL. When students can learn subjects in their native visual language, frustration drops, and retention increases.
• Cross-Disability Teacher Training: All general B.Ed. programs will now include cross-disability training. A deaf student is less likely to drop out if their mainstream classroom teacher understands basic inclusive strategies and how to accommodate them.

Remediation (Helping Struggling Students Catch Up)

• Role of NIOS: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is tasked with developing high-quality ISL modules and specialized remedial content to help students with hearing loss who are falling behind in standard academic tracks.
• Peer Tutoring and Mentoring: The policy encourages formalized peer-tutoring programs, creating a supportive social and academic safety net for students who may be missing auditory information during standard lectures.

Reentry (Bringing Dropouts Back)

• Multiple Pathways to Learning: NEP 2020 expands Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programs through NIOS and State Open Schools. This provides a stigma-free, flexible pathway for deaf students who have dropped out to reenter the education system and complete their schooling at their own pace.
• Tracking Systems: Schools are required to maintain active tracking of vulnerable students to identify when and why they drop out, allowing for targeted counseling and rehabilitation to bring them back.

Assessment for Learning and Improvement

NEP 2020 completely overhauls the assessment culture, moving away from high-stakes summative exams (which heavily penalize students with language and communication barriers) toward formative, competency-based assessment.

• Formative Over Summative: Assessments will focus on testing core competencies, critical thinking, and conceptual clarity rather than rote memorization of complex, text-heavy language, which often acts as a barrier for deaf students.
• Holistic 360-Degree Report Cards: Progress cards will be multidimensional, reflecting not just written academic test scores, but also project work, peer evaluation, self-evaluation, and life skills.
• PARAKH Guidelines: The new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), is responsible for formulating equitable and inclusive assessment guidelines for children with disabilities.
• Vital Testing Accommodations: NEP 2020 supports systemic accommodations during board exams, including the provision of sign language interpreters, alternative objective/visual question formats, and extended time to process written text.

The Paradigm Shift in Teaching and Learning

The implementation of NEP 2020 represents a fundamental philosophical shift in how education is delivered to students with hearing impairment in India.

• From Integration to True Inclusion: Previous policies focused on “integration”—forcing the deaf child to adapt to the hearing school. NEP 2020 shifts to “inclusion”—mandating that the school, curriculum, and teachers adapt to the needs of the deaf child.
• From Oralism to Bilingualism: For decades, deaf education in India was dominated by the oralist approach (forcing students to lip-read and speak). NEP 2020 officially shifts the paradigm toward a bilingual approach, placing ISL on equal footing with spoken regional languages.
• From Specialized to Universal Design: Teaching methods are moving toward the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Teachers are expected to use visual aids, smartboards, and closed-captioned digital content as standard practice, which benefits all students, not just those with hearing loss.
• From Isolated Special Educators to Collaborative Teaching: The responsibility for educating a child with a hearing impairment no longer rests solely on a special educator in a resource room. General educators are now empowered and expected to take ownership of inclusive classrooms, collaborating with special educators as co-teachers.

Salient features of RCI ACT-1992, PWD ACT-1995, RPWD ACT-2016

These three acts represent the legislative evolution of disability rights in India, moving from regulating professionals (RCI), to a welfare-based approach (PWD), and finally to a rights-based, inclusive framework (RPWD).

Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) Act, 1992

Amended in 2000. This act focuses strictly on the professionals who work with persons with disabilities, rather than the rights of the disabled individuals themselves.

Core Objective: To regulate and standardize the training policies and programs in the field of special education and rehabilitation.

Salient Features:

• Standardization of Syllabi: The RCI dictates and standardizes the curriculum for all training courses (like B.Ed. Special Education, D.Ed., Audiology, etc.) for various categories of professionals working with people with disabilities.
• Central Rehabilitation Register (CRR): The Council maintains a national register of all qualified professionals. Only those registered in the CRR are legally allowed to practice as special educators or rehabilitation professionals in India.
• Recognition of Institutions: The RCI grants recognition to universities and institutions to run training courses in special education and rehabilitation. It also has the power to withdraw recognition if standards are not met.
• Punitive Action: The Act makes it a punishable offense (with imprisonment or fines) for any unqualified person to deliver services to people with disabilities.
• Promotion of Research: The RCI is mandated to encourage and fund research in the field of rehabilitation and special education.

Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995

(Full Name: Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995) This was India’s first comprehensive law addressing the rights of people with disabilities, built heavily on a “welfare” model.

Core Objective: To integrate persons with disabilities into the economic and social mainstream by providing equal opportunities.

Salient Features:

• 7 Recognized Disabilities: The Act legally defined and recognized only seven categories of disabilities:
  1. Blindness
  2. Low Vision
  3. Leprosy-Cured
  4. Hearing Impairment
  5. Locomotor Disability
  6. Mental Retardation (now Intellectual Disability)
  7. Mental Illness
• Reservation in Employment: It mandated a 3% reservation in all government jobs (Group A, B, C, and D) for persons with disabilities (specifically 1% each for visual, hearing, and locomotor impairments).
• Education: Guaranteed free education for all children with disabilities up to the age of 18 in an appropriate environment. It also mandated a 3% reservation of seats in government-funded educational institutions.
• Barrier-Free Environment: Directed governments to take steps to provide ramps in public buildings, auditory signals at roads, and accessible transport, though enforcement was often weak.
• Unemployment Allowance: Provided schemes for payment of an unemployment allowance to persons with disabilities registered with the Special Employment Exchange for more than two years.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016

This act replaced the PWD Act of 1995. It was enacted to fulfill India’s obligation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). It represents a massive paradigm shift from a “welfare” model to a “human rights” model.

Core Objective: To ensure respect for the inherent dignity, individual autonomy, and full, effective participation of persons with disabilities in society.

Salient Features:

• Expansion of Disabilities (7 to 21): The list of recognized disabilities was drastically expanded from 7 to 21.
  • Newly added conditions include: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disabilities (Dyslexia), Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Acid Attack Victims, Hemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle Cell Disease, and Dwarfism.
  • Dynamic List: The Central Government has the power to add more types of disabilities to this list.
• Benchmark Disability: Introduced the concept of “Benchmark Disability,” referring to a person with at least 40% of a specified disability. Only those with benchmark disabilities are eligible for reservation benefits.
• Increased Reservations:
  • Employment: Reservation in government jobs was increased from 3% to 4%.
  • Higher Education: Reservation in government and government-aided higher education institutions was increased from 3% to 5%.
• Right to Inclusive Education: Mandates that all educational institutions funded or recognized by the government must provide inclusive education (admitting children with disabilities without discrimination) and provide necessary accommodations.
• Accessibility Standards: Set legally binding, time-bound targets for the government to make all public buildings, transport, and information/communication technology (websites, documents) accessible (The Accessible India Campaign).
• Guardianship: Shifted from “plenary guardianship” (where a guardian makes all decisions) to “limited guardianship” (a system of joint decision-making), respecting the autonomy of the disabled person.
• Strict Penalties: Unlike the 1995 Act, the RPWD Act introduced strict financial penalties and imprisonment for those who discriminate against, insult, or commit violence against persons with disabilities.

Feature	RCI Act (1992)	PWD Act (1995)	RPWD Act (2016)
Primary Focus	Regulating rehabilitation professionals.	Providing basic welfare and opportunities to PwDs.	Securing fundamental human rights and dignity for PwDs.
Disabilities Covered	N/A (Focuses on training categories).	7 Conditions.	21 Conditions (with provision to add more).
Job Reservation	N/A	3%	4%
Education Reservation	N/A	3%	5%
Enforcement	Punishes fake professionals.	Weak enforcement mechanisms.	Strict legal penalties for discrimination and abuse.

Samagra Shiksha :Objectives and implementation

The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is an overarching, integrated scheme for school education launched by the Ministry of Education in 2018. The scheme represents a paradigm shift by treating school education as a continuous, holistic process from pre-school to Class 12.

• Subsumed Schemes: It merges three erstwhile central schemes:
  1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
  2. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)
  3. Teacher Education (TE)
• Alignment: It is completely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4) and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Current Phase: The scheme has been upgraded and extended as Samagra Shiksha 2.0 for a period of five years (from 2021-22 to 2025-26).

Major Objectives

The overarching goal is to improve school effectiveness, ensuring equitable access and enhanced learning outcomes. The specific objectives include:

• NEP 2020 & RTE Implementation: Supporting States and UTs in translating the vision of NEP 2020 to the grassroots level and ensuring the effective implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
• Early Education Focus: Placing a strong emphasis on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and achieving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) by Grade 3 (via the NIPUN Bharat Mission).
• Curriculum & Pedagogy: Shifting from rote learning to a holistic, inclusive, and activity-based curriculum designed to impart 21st-century skills.
• Bridging Gaps: Eliminating social and gender disparities in school education and ensuring an inclusive classroom environment for marginalized communities and Children with Special Needs (CwSN).
• Teacher Empowerment: Strengthening nodal agencies for teacher training, specifically State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIETs).
• Vocationalisation: Integrating vocational education into the mainstream curriculum starting from the upper primary level.

Implementation Strategy and Key Features

The implementation of Samagra Shiksha relies heavily on improving quality through the “Two T’s”—Teachers and Technology.

1. Administrative & Financial Flexibility

• The scheme provides a unified administrative structure, looking at the school as a continuum rather than divided stages.
• It gives States and UTs the flexibility to prioritize their specific local educational interventions.
• Funding Pattern: 60:40 (Centre:State) for most states, 90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan States, and 100% central funding for UTs without a legislature.

2. Focus on Quality and Digital Education

• Operation Digital Board: Enhancing the use of digital technology through smart classrooms, digital boards, virtual classrooms, and DTH channels in secondary schools.
• Capacity Building: Massive in-service teacher training programs (like NISHTHA) to improve pedagogical skills.
• Holistic Progress Cards (HPC): Moving away from traditional exams to 360-degree, multidimensional progress tracking, supported by the national assessment center, PARAKH.

3. Upgrading Infrastructure and Universal Access

• Upgrading schools from primary to upper primary, and up to the senior secondary level.
• Providing transport and escort facilities for children up to Class VIII to ensure universal access.
• Increasing Composite School Grants (allocated based on enrollment) to help maintain school infrastructure and hygiene under the ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ initiative.

4. Equity, Inclusion, and Girl Education

• KGBV Upgradation: Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been upgraded from Class 6-8 to Class 6-12 to provide residential schooling for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT): Providing financial allowances, free uniforms, and textbooks directly to students to prevent leakage and reduce dropout rates.
• Inclusive Education: Increased financial allocation (Rs. 3,500 per child per annum) for Children with Special Needs (CwSN), alongside a specific stipend for disabled girls from Classes 1 to 12.

5. Skill Development and Sports

• Vocational Hubs: Certain schools act as vocational “hubs” providing classroom-cum-workshop facilities for neighboring “spoke” schools.
• Sports Grants: Sports education is integrated into the curriculum, with dedicated annual grants provided to all government schools to purchase sports equipment (ranging from Rs. 5,000 for primary to Rs. 25,000 for senior secondary schools).

Government welfare schemes and provisions for student with hearing impairment and e-content guidelines

Government Welfare Schemes and Provisions for Students with Hearing Impairment

The Government of India, through the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) and the Ministry of Education, provides various schemes to ensure the educational and social inclusion of students with hearing impairment (HI).

1. ADIP Scheme (Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances)

• Objective: To assist needy disabled persons in procuring standard, modern, and scientifically manufactured assistive devices.
• Provisions for HI: Free or highly subsidized distribution of high-quality Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing aids.
• Cochlear Implant Program: Under the ADIP scheme, the government provides financial assistance of up to ₹6.00 Lakhs per child for cochlear implant surgery and rehabilitation for children (usually under the age of 5) with severe-to-profound hearing loss.

2. Scholarships and Financial Assistance

The government offers targeted scholarships to reduce the dropout rate and encourage higher education.

• Pre-Matric Scholarship: For students in Classes 9 and 10. Covers tuition fees, book allowances, and maintenance allowance.
• Post-Matric Scholarship: For students from Class 11 up to Ph.D. level.
• Top Class Education Scholarship: Fully funds students with disabilities who secure admission into premier institutes (like IITs, IIMs, NITs).
• National Fellowship for PwDs (NFPwD): Financial assistance provided to students pursuing M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees.

3. Educational Provisions under Samagra Shiksha

• Child-Specific Allocation: Financial support of ₹3,500 per child, per annum, specifically allocated for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) to cover the cost of special educators, learning materials, and therapy.
• Girl Child Stipend: A specific stipend of ₹200 per month is provided directly to girls with disabilities (Classes 1 to 12) via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to encourage their retention in schools.
• Transport and Escort Allowance: Financial assistance for parents/escorts to help children with severe hearing or multiple disabilities travel to school.

4. Institutional and Language Support

• ISLRTC (Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre): An autonomous body established to standardize Indian Sign Language (ISL), develop ISL dictionaries, and train certified sign language interpreters to be deployed in schools and public sectors.
• District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs): Setup in various districts to provide early detection, audiological assessment, and distribution of hearing aids at the grassroots level.

E-Content Guidelines for Children with Disabilities (CwDs)

With the massive shift toward digital education (accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic), the Ministry of Education (MoE) released the “Guidelines for the Development of e-Content for Children with Disabilities” (2021). These guidelines ensure that digital learning platforms (like DIKSHA) are accessible to all, relying on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

1. Specific e-Content Guidelines for Hearing Impairment

To ensure that deaf and hard-of-hearing students are not excluded from digital learning, content creators must adhere to the following strict criteria:

• Mandatory Indian Sign Language (ISL): All educational videos must have an ISL interpreter. The interpreter should be placed in a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window, ideally taking up at least 1/6th to 1/4th of the screen size so the hand shapes and facial expressions are clearly visible.
• Closed Captions (CC) and Subtitles: All audio and video content must include synchronized, accurate closed captions. Captions must indicate not just the spoken words, but also critical non-verbal sounds (e.g., [bell rings], [dog barks]).
• Transcripts: A full, downloadable text transcript must be provided for all audio/video material. This allows students to read the content at their own pace.
• Visual Representation of Audio: Content should not rely solely on sound to convey important information. Information must be represented using graphics, charts, animations, and color-coded text.
• Simplified Language: Digital text and captions should use simple sentence structures and controlled vocabulary, keeping in mind that the reading level of students whose first language is ISL may differ from their neurotypical peers.

2. General Platform and Technical Accessibility (WCAG Compliance)

• Customizable Interfaces: E-learning platforms must allow users to adjust the text size, color contrast, and playback speed of videos (slowing down a video helps students process fast-moving captions or sign language).
• Navigation: Platforms must be fully navigable without a mouse (keyboard-only navigation) and must be compatible with screen magnifiers.
• Avoidance of Flashing Content: Videos and animations must not contain elements that flash more than three times per second, to prevent triggering seizures, ensuring safety for students with multiple disabilities.

3. The Role of DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing)

• The government has mandated that all state boards and the NCERT upload accessible content onto the national DIKSHA portal.
• A dedicated vertical/section for ISL-translated NCERT textbooks and audiobooks has been established on DIKSHA to provide a centralized repository of accessible materials for students with hearing impairment across India.