Colleges to provide easy access to disabled soon, govt tells HC - Times of India
Aug 31, 2018, MUMBAI: The state government on Thursday told the Bombay high court that all educational institutions in Maharashtra have been directed to conduct an audit of their buildings to check whether they have barrierfree access for differentlyabled individuals; if not, changes must be made within ayear to enable such access. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Rajesh Ketkar heard a PIL (filed in 2014) by Akanksha Kale, a student of a Pune college. She underwent hardship due to a lack of ramps, lifts and toilets adaptable to her wheelchair at her college and even at examination centres. The judges extended the scope of the PIL to all over the state. Only July 18, the court noted that the director of higher education had issued instructions for creating barrier-free access at universities, colleges, classrooms, canteens, staff rooms, ladies common rooms and washrooms. The government was asked to direct all universities to call for compliance reports from educational institutions. The government’s advocate, Nisha Mehra, submitted an August 27 government resolution (GR) taken out by the Higher and Technical Education Department, saying that an outer limit of one year has been fixed for compliance. The GR stated that all nonagricultural universities, affiliated and aided government and private colleges shall provide easy access “to the disabled”. 9/1/2018 Colleges to provide easyaccess to disabled soon, govt tells HC - Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/colleges-to-provide-easy-access-to-disabled-soon-govt-tells-hc/articleshowprint/65615756.cms 2/2 Institutions are also required to get experts in the field of disability to conduct an audit, implement National Building Code norms and make the required changes within a year. The GR also said that institutions must ensure that curricula are “disabledfriendly” and facilities are provided in classrooms, research centres and laboratories so that differently-abled students can effectively complete their courses. Observing that the matter will require continuous monitoring, the judges directed the government to submit quarterly reports to the court. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
