NEW DELHI: There has been an increase of at least 10 per cent in the number of admissions under the Persons with Disability (PwD) category at Delhi University this year. As of July 13, of the 1,537 aspirants who registered under the PwD category for undergraduate programme this year, 623 have already been admitted, in comparison to 595 enrolled in 2017 and 564 in 2016.
Looking at the trend, Anil K Aneja, OSD, Equal Opportunity Cell, Delhi University, says rise in the number of admission could be primarily due to the increase of awareness about new categories introduced under the quota and the university policy to put 5 per cent of reservation into effect. He adds, “Considering the two factors, there might be a further rise in the admission this year.”
Earlier, candidates seeking admission under the PwD category could only register under the physical disability category which included visual disability, hearing disability and orthopaedic disability. In 2017, the university introduced several new categories such as intellectual disability, mental behaviour, disability caused due to chronic neurological conditions and blood disorder and multiple disabilities under the PwD quota. Also, seats were introduced for acid attack victims under the quota.
DU was among the first few universities in the country which implemented the Rights of Person with Disability Act, 2016 — raising the quota from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. This means, of the 56,000 seats available in DU’s 60-odd colleges, 2,800 are reserved for the PwD category.