PwD inclusion in India’s universities remains low, with less than 1percentage faculty representation despite RPwD Act mandates.
Link between PwD faculty count and percentage of PwD employees in CHEIs
“How PwD-inclusive are our institutions?” is a relevant question to ask, given the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) on December 3, whose motto is “fostering disability inclusive societies.” The 64 million PwD in India (NFHS -5 National Family Health Survey), 4.4% of the country’s population, is just over 1/4th of the WHO PwD global estimate of 16%. India, a signatory of the UN Convention for Rights of PwD (CRPD), enacted its Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act in 2016. It recognized more disabilities, mandated free education for children with benchmark disabilities, as well as increased PwD reservations in government jobs to 4% and in higher education seats to 5%. The national vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’, a developed country, is not only about GDP per Capita, but also about the safeguarding of the rights of the marginalized.
Judy’s, Judith Heumann, fight against discrimination is testimony to a PwD faculty driving inclusivity in education, and beyond – public transport, Americans with Disability Act (ADA Act 1990), etc. Disability advocates like Nipun Malhotra carry the torch for an inclusive mindset in public institutions, such as the Delhi Police. Paul Harpur, University of Queensland faculty, is a former Paralympic athlete, and he stresses the importance of PwD voices in academic governance – committees overseeing facilities development, curriculum, material procurement, testing, and in premium institutional groupings like Ivy or Russell or Indian CHEIs. “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disability for an inclusive…future.”, the 2024 IDPwD theme, requires affirmative action. India’s RPwD Act 2016 mandated reservation in faculty jobs at CHEIs, serving at least three purposes - (a) social uplift, encouraging PwD students to pursue higher education to the PhD level and beyond, (b) ensuring appropriate role models for students, and (c) PwD representation in important decision-making processes of autonomous institutions.
How are PwD faculty represented in the top science, technology, engineering and management Central Higher Education Institutions (CHEIs)? We requested and received information from the Department of Higher Education (Right to Information Act, 2005), of the number of employees and PwD employees in these CHEIs. Between March and October 2025, we tabulated this information of IIMs, IITs, NITs, IISERs, IIEST, IIITs, IISc, and ISI (Indian Statistical Institute) – Indian CHEIs at the forefront of knowledge leadership, which have nurtured the likes of Sundar Pitchai, of Google, at the fabled IIT Kharagpur. We received valid responses from 77 CHEIs (92%). They employ 25,805 faculty and non-teaching staff. Of the faculty, less than 1% were PwD, that is, less than 1/4th of the RPwD mandated 4% reservation. These 77 CHEIs have an estimated 645 unfilled positions reserved for PwD, of which 2/3 were for faculty positions; 37 institutions have no PwD faculty at all (Chart)! Like paper redaction penalties (imposed from NIRF 2025), persistent social underperformance should be given adequate weight in order to align institutional priorities with national aspirations.
Design and retrofitting of facilities to make them PwD accessible, pedagogical innovations, and adjustments in academic evaluation processes are all opportunities for improving education, not only for PwDs, but for all students. PwD faculty, given their lived experience, should lead the effort for PwD inclusivity. Narrow, able-ist world views cannot be allowed to hijack our national vision of a developed country, ‘Viksit Bharat’.
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