Ashoka Reflections - Apr 2023
Welcome to interactive presentation, created with Publuu. Enjoy the reading!
Our biggest achievement so far has been about building a culture of inclusion and allyship on campus. Today,
the student community has come together to learn from and along with their peers who may learn differently
or have specific needs. This allyship is empowering them to take meaningful action and include everyone in all
campus life activities and programs.
Outside Ashoka, the OLS has initiated and steered crucial conversations around the inclusion of students with
disabilities in higher education. We convened the first pan-India online summit that initiated a deliberation
around best practices and helped spearhead collaborations with like-minded institutions. The conversations
delved into discussions on policies, solutions to major systemic and infrastructural barriers, research, and
technological advancements.
We also organised the first-ever conference on the inclusion of students with dyslexia in higher education
institutions in India in 2021. The virtual conference aimed to spotlight dyslexia through lived experiences,
explore its acceptance in HEIs in India and look at its future in the realm of employment. It brought together
academicians, practitioners, industry experts, parents, students, advocates, and policymakers to share best
practices, knowledge and lived experiences to enable effective support systems for students with dyslexia
across the HEIs.
Through its College Readiness Programme (CRP), the OLS is building the capacity to strengthen the educational
ecosystem for people with disabilities. The programme that’s conducted online twice a year over three days
engages various stakeholders – schools, career counsellors, parents, students, and professionals in a virtual
learning series. It equips students with the skills required in higher education and be future-ready.
On the Policy side, the OLS, along with the members from different organisations across the country,
participated in the committee formed by the then Chairman, AICTE. The committee prepared a report on the
need to strategically focus on the inclusion of students with SLDs in higher education institutions. Those
recommendations were approved and are in the process of being implemented in technical
colleges/universities.
Looking Ahead
We believe that Ashoka, with its vision, its eminent place in the HEI eco-system and its proven credentials and
experience in fostering an inclusive environment, is uniquely positioned to lead the way in India to further the
cause of inclusion at a systemic level. Moving forward, we plan to collaborate with organisations interested in
bringing about this much-needed change in our society and establish a system that promotes an in-depth
understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity and the dissemination of best inclusive practices in higher
education institutions in India.
(Reena Gupta is the Director, Office of Learning Support at Ashoka University, leading a unique initiative to
establish a comprehensive inclusive education framework supporting students with specific learning needs at
the university level)
C O V E R S T O R Y
Ashoka Reflections | Page 07
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71