Title: Diversity and Inclusion at Higher Education in India: A Policy Critique
Stream: Educational Policy, Leadership, Management & Administration
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Authors:
Vandana Saxena, University of Delhi, India
Abstract:
Diversity across context in India is well established via multiple discourses and illustrations. The matrix is complex due to intersections across various socio, economic and cultural domains. Meant to serve ‘public purpose’, the higher education institutes (HEIs) are expected to cater to societal diversities and be inclusive in ways. The unwritten dictate of majoritarian-democracy necessitates that social and economic margins appear blur. The primary focus of this presentation is to share a critique of policies for higher education in specific context of creating inclusive learning opportunities for all. In India, the principal organisation to prepare policy in higher education is University Grant Commission (UGC). During the twelfth five-year plan, UGC recognised that a large population of our country is still disadvantaged and marginalized in the field of higher education. While the purpose of educating large volumes of youth at higher education level can be critically debated, the need for evolving democratic learning spaces at any level remain undisputed. UGC proposed the provision of equal opportunity cell in all institutions of higher education with basic objective to ensure equal opportunity to the community at large in the college and bring about social inclusion. There is provision for financial grant also under this scheme. The critical examination of this and related policies revealed that, there is some success in ensuring access but the institutional ethos and pedagogical process remain largely inert. It remains to be understood how policies can help create inclusive belief systems among people to acknowledge and respect diversity.
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