Advocacy and Awareness Raising Campaign on Implementation of Accessibility in the Schools, Universities and Learning Environment.

Samarthyam is promoting Inclusive Education since 2007 by improving access to academic institutions and conducting accessibility audits of universities, colleges, IITs IIMs and schools.

Samarthyam has organized access sensitization programmes in 1400 schools of 22 states including Middle Andaman. We have prepared Guidelines for Schools Audit for the Government of India to make schools universally accessible.

Samarthyam is promoting ‘Accessible Infrastructure and Inclusive Education’ by improving accessibility in the built and education environment of academic institutions. Samarthyam team continue to undertake accessibility audits of schools, colleges, Universities, Indian Institute of Technology and other academic institutions to improve universal accessibility for students and teachers with disabilities. Implementation of audit reports are monitored and mentoring support is provided to the concerned implementing agencies.

Technical trainings and capacity building workshops are organized for State SSA Missions for engineers, block resource teachers, special education, head masters and teachers on creation of barrier free and accessible elements in the schools to mobilize children with disabilities to access ‘all’ facilities and not just few.

We have conducted advocacy meetings for Department of Education, Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhiand Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India on provision of Access standards in 600 Government run primary schools in New Delhi.

Policy advocacy and development of accessibility codes and toolkits on Inclusive Education

Samarthyam has spearheaded the disability inclusive design elements for schools and educational institutions in following reports, guidelines and codes:

• 2019, Authored, Global Monitoring Report, UNESCO

• 2015, Access to School and the Learning Environment (Physical, Information and Communication), New York, UNICEF

• 2017, Making schools Accessible for children with disabilities, UNICEF and Government of India

Global Level Advocacy

8th Session CEDAW, June 2014

Samarthyam’s advocacy with CEDAW Committee members, oral statement and contribution in the shadow report of NAWO helped in raising concerns of girls and women with disabilities.

Ms. Anjlee Agarwal, representative of the women with disabilities Indian delegation at UN, Geneva in 2014 presented an oral statement on ‘Discrimination’ and status report comprising exclusion of girls and women with disabilities in primary and higher education.

National Level Advocacy

Authored following codes and reports:

• 2020, School Zone Accessibility Code, Indian Roads congress

• 2018, Manual on Universal Accessibility for Roads & Streets, Indian Roads Congress (IRC)

• 2016, Harmonised Guidelines & Space Standards for Universal Design for Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India

• 2015, Practitioner’s Manual on Inclusive WASH: Schools and Public Spaces, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

• 2014, School Audit Toolkit, UNICEF

• 2014, Guidelines on Barrier free Environment for Children with Disabilities in Schools, DFID, VSO and CBM; adopted by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India

• 2012, IRC 103:2012, Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities, Indian Roads congress

Since 2004, Samarthyam has conducted the following activities

Access audits of more than 800 schools in 16 state of India with funding support of UNICEF, Government of India, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Odisha and West Bengal, VSO and DFID under International Partnership Agreement programme (IPAP) and CBM

Access audits of Centre of Excellence, which led to evidence based advocacy on making IITs and IIMs accessible for persons with disabilities. The institutes access audited are as follows:

• IIT, Delhi

• IIT, Jammu

• IIT, Kanpur

• IIT, Kharagpur

• IIT, Gandhinagar

• IIT, Bhubaneshwar

• IIM, Ahmadabad

• IIM, Jammu

• BITS MESRA, Ranchi

Access audits of prime Universities of India:

• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) campus, New Delhi

• University of Delhi

• University of Punjab

• University of Rajasthan

• University of Garhwal at Tehri, Pauri, Garhwal and Srinagar, Uttrakhand

• University of Hyderabad, EFLU

• SLIET, Engineering University, Punjab

In 2004, Samarthyam has organized access sensitization programmes in schools of Delhi, Port Blair and Rangat (Middle Andaman) and conducted several access audits with Handicap International and Vidyasagar (NGO) to make schools universally accessible for children with disabilities in the island.