NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Monday recommended that the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure that universities and affiliated schools provide mandatory accessibility facilities, including ramps, wheelchairs and accessible toilets, for students with disabilities.
In two separate orders, Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi invoked Section 25(5) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to recommend measures for ensuring compliance with disability-related provisions in educational institutions. The orders followed appeals filed by an applicant who had raised concerns over the absence of basic accessibility infrastructure in educational institutions in Bihar.
In the appeal concerning the UGC, the applicant had sought inquiry reports and details of action taken on a complaint regarding the lack of facilities for persons with disabilities in colleges affiliated with Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University.
Responding to the commission, the university said ramps had been constructed to provide access to its administrative building and key departments. It also informed the CIC that work was underway to construct separate accessible toilets for men and women with disabilities.
The university further stated that all constituent and affiliated colleges had been instructed to provide essential accessibility infrastructure, including ramps with handrails, accessible toilets, lifts wherever required, designated parking spaces, suitable library facilities and wheelchairs. The colleges were subsequently asked to furnish details of the actual status of these facilities.
The CIC also recommended that the UGC issue appropriate guidelines to ensure barrier-free access in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and take steps to ensure strict compliance by universities under its purview.
In the separate appeal involving the CBSE, the applicant had sought information on action taken on complaints concerning accessibility facilities in private and government schools in Bihar and the Delhi-NCR region.
The board informed the commission that it had issued mandatory guidelines to all affiliated schools regarding provisions for children with special needs.
The CIC recommended that the CBSE issue necessary directions to affiliated schools and establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure effective implementation of the guidelines. It emphasised that eligible children must not be denied prescribed facilities and support.
While finding the replies furnished by the public information officers appropriate under the RTI Act in both cases, the commission underscored the wider public interest in safeguarding the educational rights of children with special needs.