Research paper

1. DR. AMBATI NAGESWARA RAO, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Gujarat National Law
University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, E-mail: anrao@gnlu.ac.in / nageshcu@gmail.com
I J S R
Volume 8 • Numbers 1-2 • 2015
PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES ON SUPPORT SERVICES
PROVIDED IN HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS
Ambati Nageswara Rao
The present study is an exploratory in nature. Providing support
services for students with disabilities in higher education institutions
is a multi-faceted issue. It involves challenges like availability of
academic resources and its accessibility, training for academic tutors
and staff, awareness of university admin about diversity and special
need of these students. Further, the type of impairment and its degree
of severity is likely to influence not only the specific educational
support needed by a student, but also an entire support strategy. To
answer the research questions posed in this study, the researcher used
a mixed method approach. The study was conducted in the erstwhile
State of Andhra Pradesh (now bifurcated in to Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana). For this study, the researcher selected three universities in
different parts of Andhra Pradesh by using purposive sampling. In the
second phase the researcher interviewed 100 students with disabilities
from the selected universities by using snowball sampling. For this
study, quantitative and qualitative data analyses were used and in most
cases quotes of real text for each theme were maintained and used
extensively. The findings of the paper covered perceptions of students
with disabilities on various support services provided to them in higher
education institutions. The author of the paper suggest that, there is
an urgent need to recognize the importance of UGC guidelines with
regarding HEPSN schemes and all universities must have disability
cell and coordinator to provide better support service to the students
with disabilities and to improve their social and educational experiences.
Key words: Students with disabilities, Higher education, HEPSN,
Academic support services
1. INTRODUCTION
Education is a powerful instrument of social change, and often initiates upward
movement in the social structure. In the post-independence the government of

2. �
India recognized the problems of disabled children’s and made three legislations
for the rehabilitation and welfare of Persons with Disabilities. Among these
Acts Persons with Disability Act 1995 is a land mark in India (Singh, 2005). It
also states that persons with disabilities should have access to education at all
levels and made a policy which stated that all educational institutions should
implement three per cent reservation in all the areas including higher education.
At the higher education level the University Grants Commission (UGC) had
started the scheme Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (HEPSN)
during the Ninth Five-Year Plan keeping in view the need to provide special
education programs as well as infrastructure to students with disabilities
(NCPEDP, 2004). The infrastructure needs to be designed in such a manner that
enables them to access classrooms, laboratories, toilets etc easily. Of the total
youth in India, 6% have access to higher education, which when applied to
disabled youth population 1.44 million disabled youth should have access to
higher education. But reality presents a totally different picture. For instance,
the survey conducted by National Central for Promotion of Employment for
Disabled People (2004), shows that only 0.1% of the students with disability are
enrolled in various universities.
Providing support services for students with disabilities is a multi-faceted
issue. It involves challenges like availability of resources and its accessibility,
training for academic tutors and staff, awareness about diversity and areas of
special needs, effective referral services, as well as emotional and pastoral support
for these students to disclose disability and minimise the sense of stigma (Allard,
1987; Hall & Tinklin, 1999). In addition, the type of impairment and its degree
of severity is likely to influence not only the specific educational support needed
by a student, but also an entire support strategy. For example, the needs of
students with severe cognitive disabilities are entirely different from those who
are visually impaired or who face hearing impairment and mental health
disorders (Bergin & Zafft, 2000). Students with physical impairment may benefit
from a barrier-free environment and a campus climate that has an attitude of
disability friendliness (Wilson & Getzel, 2001). Thus, there are several kinds
of support services which help the students with disabilities in improving their
learning experiences in higher education institutions. Universities have the
responsibility of taking care of the needs of these students, including their
physical and learning environment. Through participation and learning in the
general education classroom, these students would have better employment
opportunities and improve their living conditions. This paper deals with the
perceptions of students with disabilities towards support services provided at
their universities.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This section discusses the conceptualisation of disability. The term ‘Disability’
has been defined differently by different disciplines like bio-medicine/
rehabilitation, sociology, and disability studies (Pfeiffer 2000). The Sociology of

3. �
disability is associated with medical sociology, or specifically, it’s sub-group such
as the ‘sociology of chronic illness and disability’. It is formed by the idea that
disability is caused by illness and impairment, and brings about suffering and
social disadvantages. According to the functionalist approach, it is very significant
for an individual to be healthy and contribute to his/her society. Further, as
outlined by Talcott Parsons (1951), sickness is similar to social deviance, since it
causes a threat to the ‘normal’ role performance and wider economic productivity
and efficiency. As a result, the society recognises that the sick person cannot get
better simply by an ‘act of will’ and she/he should be allowed to withdraw
temporarily from ‘normal’ social roles (Barnes and Mercer, 2003). Thus, if any
sick person fails to achieve the expected rehabilitation goals, this failure can be
explained with reference to the disabled people’s perceived inadequacy. But
professional integrity remains intact, traditional wisdom and values are not
questioned, and the existing social order remains unchallenged.
Similarly, one of the classic studies of Goffman (1963) provides responses to
stigma, or a ‘spoiled identity’ including ‘abominations of the body’, with
illustrations such as those described as ‘deformed’, ‘deaf’, ‘crippled’, ‘blind’ and
‘mentally-ill’. The application of stigma is the outcome of situational
considerations and social interactions between the ‘normal’ and the ‘abnormal’.
These include repeated and often painful medical and surgical procedures to
make the individual ‘more normal’, or less likely to attract a critical public gaze
(Barnes and Mercer, 2003). The only other option for a stigmatised person is
‘withdrawal’ from social interaction (Goffman, 1963). Further, the Conflict
theory of Sociology focuses on political, economic, and social forces that influence
health and the health care delivery system (Barnes and Mercer, 2003). Historically,
there was a change in the people’s perception of social deviance rooted in religious
criteria of ‘badness’ towards medical judgments of ‘sickness’. The medicalisation
of disability established the arrival of an orthodox medical profession, with state-
legitimated control of the health and care services. With rapid growth of medical
professionals, the lives of disabled people have been unevenly affected (Barnes
and Mercer, 2003). It is most obvious in studies of mental illness that include a
full-blown critique of a self-serving professional for exploiting its power of labeling
and collaborating in a wider process of social control.
In brief, sociology has remained silent on the issues of disability and proved
the analysis of disability has been theoretically and methodologically inadequate.
This is mainly due to the fact that sociology has accepted almost without a
question the legitimacy of bio-medical or individualistic approach, to disability.
On the other hand, the disability rights movement that began in the United
States and United Kingdom succeeded in radically changing public policies with
respect to people with impairments. These two significant events have helped to
change the notion that disability was a medical condition, as well as helped to set
a socio-political component to the research that would lead to disability studies.
As both a critique of the medicalised model and marginalisation associated with
disability, the social model of disability was developed.

4. �
Under the social model, disability defined as ‘the disadvantage, or restriction
of activity, caused by a contemporary social organisation which takes no or little
account of people with impairments and thus excludes them from participation in
the mainstream of social activities’. Similarly, the social model challenges the
paradigm of normality, by simultaneously accepting the disabled body as a fact
and by rejecting it as an object of deviance and abnormality (Garland, 1997).
Disability is now seen wholly and exclusively as a social issue. Therefore, the
social model forces one to turn one’s attention away from defining who is or is
not disabled in identifying and addressing the barriers which in a given society
restrict disabled people from participating in ‘normal’ life activities. Hence, the
management of the problem requires social action, and it is the collective
responsibility of the society to make friendly environments, and the modifications
necessary for the full participation of persons with disabilities in all areas of social
life. Similarly, in this study, the social and educational experiences of students
with disabilities not only depends on students coping mechanism and abilities, but
also depends on the awareness of university management about the needs and
problems, further, the initiatives and action taken by university admin, teaching
and non-teaching members for active participant of students with disabilities.
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
Problems exist for students with disabilities in higher educational institutions in
almost all countries of the world. Policy provision and progress has often been
very slow. It is mainly hindered by social, economical and pedagogical obstacles
of society, institutions and country. However, there has been consistent but
limits progress over past decades for persons with disabilities (Hieman, 2006).
Further, Howell’s (2005) study suggests that there are number of areas for
reflection and intervention. First of it is very important to develop internal
systems to identify the persons with disabilities, their, available support to students
and to monitor the extent to which these needs are met at academic education
institutions. Secondly, each and every university must come up with support
mechanisms for these students in order to facilitate teaching and learning process
inclusive. Interestingly, Hall’s (1999) study indicates that most of the higher
educational institutions developed and came up with various institutional policies
for students with disabilities to provide better educational support services. But
the ways in which policy implementation was monitored varied greatly between
institutions. Various forms of advice, guidance and support are now available to
students with disabilities, but more could be done to make people aware of this.
Student’s academic experience varied greatly between institutions and departments.
Most of the respondents reported that, they are only looking for equal
opportunities. Data also revealed that there is still a great deal of uncertainty about
disclosing disabilities in certain circumstances (as quoted in Ambati, R. N., 2010).
Wilson’s (2003) study shows that disabled students had been written into
policies in a number of areas including admissions, estates and buildings and in
some strategic plans. Student case studies revealed that gaps between policy and

5. �
practice and showed that significant barriers remain to the participation of disabled
students in higher education. Some students found that adjustment to teaching
practice were difficulties to obtain. Even where students had received formal
agreements to provide reasonable adjustments (as required by law), such as
handouts in advance of lecturers, they often found themselves in the difficult
positions of repeatedly having to ask for these, to no avail (as quoted in Ambati,
R. N., 2010). Some lecturers, particularly in older universities felt that adjustments
to teaching practices would lower standards and give unfair advantage to disabled
students. In all institutions, academic staff felt they were under pressure and
were unable to devote as much time as they would like to individual students.
Hence, UNSECO (1997) study found that universities were also varying in terms
of their financial and human resources to respond to this challenge. The researcher
suggests that the first step to equal access for all students is the will to address the
diversity of needs of students and create a supportive environment to meet their
needs. The researcher concluded that some universities have established effective
supportive on an integrated basis does suggest that integrated models of support
are possible and should be the option of first choice in all cases.
In addition, Howell and Lazarus (2003), suggests that changes are needed
not only to the physical environment in which teaching and learning takes place,
but also to the way in which higher education curriculum is organized, delivered
and assessed. Similarly, there is a real need to address attitudinal barriers at all
levels of the institutions that continue to locate the problem of disability with
perceived limitations in the learner rather than the limitations of the system
with its inability to meet the full range of learning needs among the student
population. An exploratory study conducted by Moisey (2004), shows that
students who received more services had more success in terms of course
completions. However, Hall & Tinklin (1998), study show that the main
challenges to higher educational institutions are to combine recognition of the
individuality of students and their needs with policies and actions which are
more than piecemeal attempts to ameliorate difficulties.
The review of literature shows that, moreover, in almost all countries
especially developing countries have no current mandates regarding what kind
of facilities, infrastructure should be provided. As a consequence, institutional
drawbacks have a major impact on the quality of performance in the progress
and achievement of students with disabilities in higher educational institutions.
4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To examine the demographic profile of students with disabilities enrolled in
higher education institutions in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh
2. To understand the perceptions of students with disabilities towards support
services provided to them at higher education institutions
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The present study is an exploratory in nature. To answer the research questions
posed in this study, the researcher used a mixed method approach which is a

6. �
procedure for collecting, analysing and mixing or integrating both quantitative
and qualitative data at different stages of the research process within a single
study. The study was conducted in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh (now
bifurcated in to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) which has very high number of
academic institutions in India in terms of higher education and also enrolment.
For the purpose of this study, Andhra Pradesh shall mean the composite State
before its bifurcation. At present, it has a total number of 35 universities; of
which 3 are central universities; 27 state universities, and 5 deemed universities.
For this study, the researcher collected data from three universities in different
parts of Andhra Pradesh. These three universities have different characteristics
such as: one is a Central and the other two are State universities. The Central
and one of the State universities (a) have both a disability cell, as well as a
coordinator to look after the needs of students with disabilities in their respective
universities, whereas the second State University (b) has neither a disability cell
nor a disability coordinator.
In the second phase, after selecting the universities, the researcher interviewed
all students with disabilities from each university by using snowball sampling. It
was very difficult to get details about students with disabilities from the university
management or disability office, due to lack of data base regarding the number
of students with disabilities enrolled. That is why the researcher used snowball
sampling. Students’ were interviewed with the help of semi-structured in-depth
interview schedules. In all, 100 students were included in this study (48 from one
Central University and 26 each from the State Universities (a and b). For this
study, quantitative and qualitative data analyses were used and in most cases,
quotes of real text for each theme were maintained and used extensively.
6. FINDINGS
The findings of the study are presented in two sections. The first deals with the
demographic profile of the respondents selected from the three universities. The
second section presents the perception of the students with disabilities on support
services provided to them in their respective universities.
6.1. Demographic Characteristics
They are as follows
6.1.1. Respondents Gender and Nature of Impairment
In recent times, greater number of students with disabilities has chosen to attend
institutions of higher education due to accessibility laws, legislative support,
disability advocacy groups, and developments in technology (Hirschorn, 1992).
Table 6.1.1 will provide a brief description of the gender of respondents by
nature of the impairment.
As shown in the table 6.1.1, the greater proportion (66 per cent) of such
students was males. The decrease in the number of enrolment of girls students
with disabilities are due to many reasons including negative attitudes towards

7. �
girls’ education, expectations and reinforcement, especially coupled with over-
protection of girls and under-estimating their talents by parents. It is also seen
that 72 per cent of the respondents were orthopedically impaired and 28 per
cent, visually impaired. Representation of orthopedically impaired students is
nearly more than 2 times higher than that of visually impaired students. The
author could not find students with other type of impairments during the data
collection time. It is possible that some of the students actually did not want to
disclose their disability, especially the people with invisible impairments like
hearing and speech.
6.1.2. Students Gender and Age category
Higher education tends to attract various social groups cutting across the age
factors. There are multiple factors driving different social groups, ranging from
younger age to older age persons. Table 6.1.2 provides a brief description of the
gender of respondents by age.
Table 6.1.2
Students Gender and Age category
Gender Age (In years)
Less than 25 Between 26 – 30 Above 31 Total
(47) (43) (10) (100)
Male 34(52) 28(42) 4(6) 66(100)
Female 13(38) 15(44) 6(18) 34(100)
(Note: The figures in the parenthesis are percentage)
Table 6.1.2 shows the gender composition of respondents by the age bracket.
It can seen from the above Table that about half (47) of the students were less
than 25 years of age, followed by 43 per cent, between 26-30 years of age and
negligible proportion of students, above 31 years of age. Similarly, it was found
that there were more male students who were less than 25 years of age. Similarly,
it was also found that a greater number of female students were in the age group
of between 26-30 years as well as above 31 years of age groups. This data indicates
that female students had more gaps in pursuing their education, as compared to
Table 6.1.1
Students’ Nature of Impairment and Gender
Gender Gender
Orthopedic Visual Total
impairments impairments (100)
(72) (28)
Male 48(73) 18(27) 66(100)
Female 24(71) 10(29) 34(100)
(Note: The figures in the parenthesis are percentage)

8. �
their male counterparts. These students might have joined rather late in schools
because of over-protection of their parents, lack of proper support services, or
lack of awareness about policies and support services. In summary, we can
conclude that there are more male students in the younger age groups and more
female students in the middle and older age groups.
6.1.3. Caste Status of Respondents by Gender
Sociologists regard caste is one of the important variables in understanding the
social structure of the Indian society, since the social position of a particular
individual or social group varies according to his/her caste origin. In this study,
caste categorisation was done on the basis of the students’ response on position
of his/her caste in social hierarchy in India. Table 6.1.3 provides a brief description
of the caste of the respondents.
Table 6.1.3
Caste Status of Respondents
Gender Caste Total
General BC SC ST (100)
(23) (48) (19) (10)
Male 17(26) 32(48) 11(17) 6(9) 66(100)
Female 6(18) 16(47) 8(23) 4(12) 34(100)
(Note: The figures in the parenthesis are percentages)
This table shows, that about half of the students (48 per cent) belong to BC
category and less number of students belong to ST Category. It is interesting to
note that the total number of students from SC category was almost the same as
that of students from the General category. The less representation of students
from ST category, compared to other castes, could be due to their general socio-
economic backwardness. Similarly, there are various other reasons, such as
continuous dependence on traditional occupations and their concentration in
rural areas and issues like lack of awareness about education system, lack education
on the part of parents and economic problems, which seem to perpetuate the
existing inequalities. It was also found that there are more number of male students
from General and BC categories compared to their female counterparts, whereas
there was significant representation of SC and ST students, both males and
females. This is perhaps due to the fact that government reservation policy for
SC and STs also might have helped them to access higher education.
6.1.4. Severity of Impairment
The experiences of persons with disabilities vary, based on the type and the
severity of the impairment. This is mainly due to the fact that the needs of
persons with disabilities vary based on their impairment. As per Census 2001,
1.8 per cent of the total population of the country has various types of disabilities,
which include visual, speech, hearing, mental and locomotor disabilities.

9. �
In this study, based on the severity of impairment, the author grouped
impairment into two categories: Mild and Moderate Disability and Severe
Disability. In this study, respondents with mild and moderate disabilities are
those who have partial blindness, slight problem with mobility, or problem
with leg/hand. Respondents with severe disabilities are those who are have total
visual impairment or are mobility impaired, are wheelchair users, where both
legs/hands have been affected. Table 6.1.4 provides a brief description of the
respondents’ severity of impairment.
Table 6.1.4
Severity of Impairment
Severity of impairment Percentage
Mild and Moderate One leg problem 55
disabilities Partial visual impairment 12
Severe disabilities Both legs/hands affected 16
Both hands affected 1
Total visual impairment 16
Total 100
Predictably, the enrollment of students with severe disabilities is less as
compared with students with mild and moderate disabilities. This is perhaps,
due to lack of proper support including economic, social, friendly environment,
and technical assistive devices in higher education institutions. Secondly, it may
also be because of lack of guidance and support for the students, lack of awareness
about the availability of modern technical advancement assistive devices, and
financial support services.
6.2. Support Services
This section presents the perceptions of students with disabilities towards support
services provided at their universities. The students’ perceptions show that the
universities which have been included in this study have showed initiative in
taking the responsibility of providing support services to these students. In this
study, the support services will be divided into the following categories:
6.2.1. Physical support services,
6.2.2. Academic support services, and,
6.2.3. Financial support services
6.2.1. Physical Support Services
Physical support is an essential requirement for physically impaired students.
Physical barriers continue to exist in most of the higher education institutions,
including the university campuses. This is very problematic for students with
disabilities, who often face many physical barriers for accessing opportunities to
participate and become actively involved in both social and academic activities

10. �
at universities. Physical support includes: features of buildings, building access,
classroom access, and easy access to other public places such as lift and elevators
system, restrooms and parking facilities within a university (Brown, 1992;
Schneid, 1992). Since physical support is one of the important support services
for these students as per their diverse needs, the author was interested in
understanding their perceptions on physical support services provided at their
universities. For a better understanding, the author in the current study
categorised physical support services into two categories, namely, 1) structural
accessibility 2) academic accessibility.
6.2.1.1.Structural Accessibility: Structural accessibility refers to the availability
of ramps on all the buildings, lifts or elevators in each of the buildings, wheelchair
accessible rooms, transport facilities, and cafeterias (Singh, 2003). Students with
disabilities often face structural barriers while attending higher education
institutions. Table 6.2.1.1 gives a description of perceptions of orthopedically or
mobility impaired students on structural accessibility in their respective
universities.
It can be seen that, all the respondents stated that their universities had
provided ramps and made modifications to the existing buildings. However, a
different picture emerged as regards transport and footpath facilities. While 40
per cent of the respondents gave affirmative replies regarding the former and
only 25 per cent about the latter. An even bleak situation emerged regarding
provision of lifts or elevators and special parking areas to keep their wheelchairs.
Similarly, when the students’ perceptions were related to the type of the
university, it was found that all the three universities provided proper ramps. As
regards, special transport facilities and provided footpath facilities, only 59 per
cent and 48 per cent of students in the Central and the State University (a)
reported in the affirmative. It was also found that none of the academic or
administrative buildings’ of any university had lifts or elevators, nor had they
provided special parking areas for wheelchairs.
The data indicates that these students did not have structural accessibly,
other than availability of ramps, transport facility and footpaths. This data also
indicates a great degree of variation in students’ perceptions on provision of
structural accessibility in their respective universities. This clearly indicates that
provision of support services was influenced by the type of the university,
implementation of UGC schemes, presence of a disability cell or coordinator
and financial resources. In short, it can be concluded that the Central and State
University (a) are providing more structural accessibility to students with
disabilities. On the other hand, it was also obvious that State University (b) was
completely lagging behind in the provision of structural accessibility to students
with disabilities.
6.2.1.2. Academic Accessibility:
Academic accessibility was measured by the on campus accessibility to
physical support to classrooms, libraries/labs. These students use many different

11. �
Table6.2.1.1
Students’PerceptiononStructuralAccessibilitybyTypeoftheUniversity(N=72)
TypeoftheAvailabilityofStructuralAccessibilitysupport
universityRampsLift/ElevatorTransportFootpathswithinSpecialparking
facilityfacilitiesthecampusareas
YesNoTotalYesNoTotalYesNoTotalYesNoTotalYesNoTotal
72(0)72(0)72(72)294372185472(0)7272
(100)(100)(100)(40)(60)(100)(25)(75)(100)(100)(100)
CU29292929171229141529-2929
(100)-(100)-(100)(100)(59)(41)(100)(48)(52)(100)(100)(100)
SU(a)22222222121022418222222
(100)-(100)-(100)(100)(55)(45)(100)(18)(82)(100)-(100)(100)
SU(b)21212121212121212121
(100)-(100)-(100)(100)-(100)(100)-(100)(100)-(100)(100)
Note:
1.CU=CentralUniversity2.SU(a)=StateUniversity-132.SU(b)=StateUniversity-2

12. �
ways to move around in educational institutions (Singh, 2003). Some use crutches,
canes, walkers, wheelchairs and scooters. Thus education institutions need to
make sure that the classrooms/labs are arranged in such a way that these can
accommodate the students with mobility needs. Academic accessibility is
important, not only for orthopedically impaired students, but also for students
with visual impairment for their active participation at higher education. In this
study, the author categorised students’ responses into two categories, such as
friendly and not friendly. Here, the term friendly means those who are having
disabled friendly environment or easy access, whereas not friendly means those
who faced physical barriers due to absence of ramps, lifts and elevators. Table
6.2.1.2 depicts the perceptions of students, both with orthopedically and visually
impairment on academic accessibility in their respective universities.
It can be seen that majority of the students stated that their university has
not provided accessibility to classroom, library and academic and administrative.
However, nearly 70 per cent of the respondents stated that their university hostels
were provided with disabled friendly facilities. As discussed in the earlier section,
these students were provided hostel rooms on the ground floor. Similarly, when
the students perceptions on academic accessibility was related to the type of the
university, there was not much significant difference in students’ perceptions
based on type of the university in relation to the provision of academic
accessibility. In short, it can be concluded that these students did not have friendly
academic accessibly other than accessibility to hostels in their respective
universities.
As we discussed in the chapter on review of literature, the findings of this
study also showed that students with disabilities face many problems due to
lack of both structural and academic accessibility in their universities. A study
conducted by Howell and Lazarus (2003) suggests that addressing the challenges
of increasing access and participation of students with disabilities in higher
education institutions is essentially about the challenge of responding effectively
to meet the special needs of students. It also states that equitable participation
for these students poses substantial and far-reaching challenges for higher
education institutions and requires them to tackle difficult questions
around institutional transformation grappling with the existing structural
barriers.
6.2.2. Academic Support Services
Academic support services are a very important source of support which helps
students with disabilities to succeed academically by ensuring that the students
recognise their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Moisey’s (2004)
study also show that those students who received more academic support services
had more success in terms of course completions. In this section, the author has
sought to explore the kind of academic support provided to them in their
respective universities and their perceptions on its quality.

13. �
Table6.2.1.2
Students’PerceptiononAcademicAccessibility(N=100)
TypeofStudentsPerceptiononAcademicAccessibility
University
ClassroomLibraryHostelsAcademicand
adminbuildings
FriendlyNotTotalFriendlyNotTotalFriendlyNotTotalFriendlyNotTotal
(16)friendly(100)(32)friendly(100)(69)friendly(100)(18)friendly(100)
(84)(68)(31)(82)
CU7414817314831174884048
(15)(85)(100)(35)(65)(100)(65)(35)(100)(17)(83)(100)
SU(a)42226818261892642226
(15)(85)(100)(31)(69)(100)(69)(31)(100)(15)(85)(100)
SU(b)52126721262152662026
(19)(81)(100)(27)(73)(100)(81)(19)(100)(23)(77)(100)
(Note:Thefiguresintheparenthesisarepercentageofstudentswithvisualimpairments)

14. �
In the current study, it was found that all respondent universities were
providing academic support such as allowing students to get scribes and giving
extra time, during exams time as per UGC rules. It was also found that, except
the Central University, none of the State Universities were providing any kind
of learning resources, including assistive technology and arranging a separate
learning centre, for students with visual impairments. Thus, it indicates that
type of the university also plays an important role in providing good support
services to students with disabilities. On the other hand, it was also found that
there were differences in students’ perception about the provision of learning
supports provided to them at the Central University. These differences show
that students with visual impairments from School of Social Sciences had all
kinds of basic assistive devices, as compared to those in the School of Humanities
and Management.
The author further encouraged the respondents to talk about the reasons
behind differences in providing support services to students with visual
impairments’ between schools within the same (Central) University. The
following narratives represent the perceptions of students with visual impairments
from the Central University towards learning resources or assistive devices
provided to them in their respective university.
“Initially, when I joined here, we had only three computer systems
with special softwares in the Computer Centre (CC), as well as one
computer system with special softwares in the library. But most of the
time, I found that these systems were either busy or occupied by one
or the other student (students with visual impairments). Since we were
more in number, the availability of computer systems were only four
(3 at the computer centre and 1 at the library). Out of these four, one
or two did not work most of the time. Initially, I faced many problems
regarding my studies without proper assistive devices support in my
university. By the end of the first semester, one day we (students with
visual impairment) took the initiative and gathered all students from
different disciplines in the School of Social Sciences, and clearly
explained the importance of assistive devices for students with visual
impairments to the Dean of School of Social Sciences. As a result of
putting so much pressure, the university management granted funds
and established a separate learning centre with all kinds of assistive
devices, softwares in the School of Social Sciences building. Most of
the students gather here for their studies, scanning material and for
study purpose. Presently, we have total nine computer systems (five
at the learning centre, three at the computer centre and one at the
library) with all kinds of special softwares, including Jaws & Kurzweil
1000, a tape recorder and head phones. Recently, we demanded a few
more systems, because, due to more enrolment of students with visual
impairments, the systems are always busy and so some of the students
face problems, especially during exams time. The University
management also agreed to increase the number of systems in the
coming days.”

15. �
The author also found that in School of Humanities, except for English and
Philosophy departments, none of the students from other departments, including
Telugu and Hindi, had demanded or requested the higher authorities for technical
assistive devices in their respective departments. This is perhaps due to the fact
that, as of now, most of the regional language studies are not getting much material
and other learning resource. That is why they have not demanded a separate
learning centre in the School of Humanities from the concerned higher
authorities. For example:
“We don’t have computers with speech softwares in my department
as well as in entire school of humanities. I spoke to the Dean. He
told me that he could not provide a separate leaning centre for me
alone. But I could visit and utilise the learning centre in the School
of Social Sciences. If I required, he would give me a recommendation
letter or talk to the Dean of School of Social Sciences. But my problem
was that there were very few systems available. That too, I had to go
to another school which was a little away from my school. So it
was a very tough task for me to go from the hostel to the department
and the department to another school, and from there back to the
hostel.”
Overall, it was clear that the Central University has been providing a good number
of resources or assistive devices, as compared to both the state universities (a &
b). It was also obvious that provision of services to students also depended on
the demands raised by the students with visual impairments and the number of
the students with visual impairments in the departments.
6.2.3. Financial Support Services
Enrolling in higher education institutions at university level can be an exciting
and enriching experience. It can also be an expensive one. In addition to tuition
fee, there are other expenses like books, room rent, boarding expenses, health
insurance, transportation and pocket money. In order to help these students
financially, the UGC and the government have introduced many scholarships
such as Social Welfare Scholarship, and UGC fellowships. Under the Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment, the government of India is providing
Social Welfare scholarships to improve the educational status of OBCs, SCs,
STs, minorities and persons with disabilities, whereas the UGC is providing
fellowships to the students those who cleared JRF / CSIR. In addition, UGC
is giving financial assistance to all the students who enrolled in Central
Universities in India. These kinds of financial resources helps the students pay
for, or supplement payment of, educational expenses in higher education. The
most important point we need to recognise is that financial aid results in a
partnership of the student, parents, higher education institutions, the State
and Central governments. Such a partnership requires cooperation,
communication, and an understanding of each other responsibilities within
the financial support services process.

16. �
Table 6.2.3
Sources from which Financial Aid was received by students
Type of Financial support
university
Social Welfare University UGC/CSIR Not receiving Total
Scholarship Fellowship (2) fellowship (100)
(33) (47) (18)
CU - 46 2 48
(96) (4) - (100)
SU (a) 14 1 11 26
(54) (4) - (42) (100)
SU (b) 19 7 26
(73) - - (27) (100)
(Note: The figures in the parenthesis are percentage of students with visual impairments)
It was seen that, 82 respondents were getting financial assistances in their
respective universities. Table 6.2.3 shows that more number of students with
disabilities was financially supported by university fellowship (47 per cent),
followed by 33 per cent, getting Social Welfare scholarship and very less number
were getting UGC/CSIR fellowships. It was also found that 18 per cent of them
were not receiving any kind of financial support, since they are hailed from the
General Category and good economic background.
It was found that nearly 96 per cent of students from the Central University
were receiving university fellowships, whereas 54 per cent and 73 per cent students
of students from both the State University (a) and (b) respectively were receiving
financial support from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It was
also found that a very noticeable number of students who were not receiving
any financial assistance were from the State universities. Therefore, we can
conclude that students from the Central University depend on University
fellowships, whereas students from both the State universities mostly depend on
Social Welfare scholarship, in addition to their parents’ support. These differences
are mainly due to the fact that the Central University has been offering university
fellowships to their students, irrespective of their social and economic
background. This university offers fellowships to all students with disabilities
along with all students admitted to any of its regular programmes of study.
Further, the data gathered also shows that, at the Central University all
Master students were paid as Boarding / Boarding- Cum- Lodging Allowances
(BBA) Rs. 1000/- per month, for M.Phil. research scholars, Rs. 3000/- per month,
whereas Ph.D research scholars were paid Boarding / Boarding- Cum- Lodging
Allowances (BBA) Rs. 5000/- per month for four academic years, which is also
extendable by one more year in exceptional cases. Further, concessions were
also provided by the university management to visually impaired students as per
the University Grants Commission guidelines from time to time, which, inter-
alia, includes exemption from payment of student’s tuition fee, and examination

17. �
fee. These students were also paid reader allowances at Rs. 400/ per month in
respect of post graduate students/ M.Phil., / Ph.D scholars, whereas Rs.1000/
was paid for JRF candidates for the employment of a reader, an annual grant of
Rs. 500/ for guide charges. In addition, it was also found that these students
were also eligible for scribe charges of Rs.150/- for internal exams/term papers
and Rs. 300/- for end-semester exams. These students were also eligible for special
stationery charges of Rs. 500/- per annum. It was also observed that the Central
University has also been providing exemption from payment of tuition fee, special
financial assistance to buy motor vehicles, eye operations as per requirements of
the students. The following narratives represent the group of the respondents:
“Being a person with mobility impairment, I am not able to walk
without the help of calipers. When I was in the first year, I requested
the university management for financial assistance, but there was no
response from the higher authorities. However, after putting a lot of
pressure on the university management, they paid me half the money
to buy a three wheeler motor-vehicle (Kinetic Honda) in my second
year. Overall, my problem is solved. Now, at any time, I can go to my
hostel and again come back to my classes.”
“Recently, I got my eye operated upon in LV Prasad Eye hospital,
Hyderabad. I am very thankful to the university management for their
financial assistance for the operation.”
“In the last academic year, some of my seniors got a cash award of Rs.
10,000 for securing the top rank in their specific departments.”
CONCLUSION
The paper attempted to understand perceptions of student’s on whether their
university management was encouraging them in their pursuit of higher
education. Encouragement in terms of student participation in social and academic
activities by providing proper support services in their respective universities
and getting feedback with a view to evaluate the impact. From the findings of
the study, it can be concluded that Central University is providing better services
than the State universities. Here, an important point we need to remember that
both the Central University and Sate University (a) have a disability coordinator,
as well as a disability Unit/cell, whereas State University (b) had neither a
disability coordinator nor a disability unit. As discussed, a disability coordinators
and cells play an active role in the provision of physical, academic, and financial
support services. Perhaps this might be the reason which influenced the some
universities provide better support services and hence, students’ perception about
university management encouraging or supporting their participation in their
respective universities. Therefore, the author of the paper suggest that, there is
urgent need to recognize the importance of UGC guidelines with regarding
HEPSN schemes and all universities must have disability cell and coordinator to
provide better support service to the students with disabilities and to improve
their social and educational experiences.

18. �
References
Ambati, R. N., (2010), Policy and Provisional services for supporting students with disabilities in
higher education institutions in Andhra Pradesh, India, Indian Journal of Social Development,
Vol. 10, No. 1, PP. 69-88.
Allard, W.G. (1987), Keeping LD students in college. Academic Therapy, 22 (4), 359-365.
Barnes, C. and Mercer, G. (2003), Disability. Cambridge: Polity.
Brown, J.T. (1992), Access to equity: The next step for women students with disabilities on the college
campus. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Bergin, M., & Zafft, C. (2000, Spring), Creating full access for all. Impact, Vol.13 (1), 14-15. Accessed
it from http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Quinsigamond+Community+ College
Garland Thompson, R. (1997), Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American
Culture and Literature. New York: Columbia University Press.
Goffman, E. (1963), Stigma; notes on the management of spoiled identity. Harmondworth: Pelican
Books.
Hall, Tinklin, (1999), ‘Disabled Students in Higher Education’, Scottish Council for Research in
Education, 61, Dublin Street, Edinburgh.
Heiman, T. (2006), Social Support Networks, Stress, Sense of Coherence and Academic Success
of University Students with Learning Disabilities. Social Psychological of Education, Vol. 9,
pp: 461-478.
Hirschhorn, B. E. (1992), The Relationship among School Accessibility, Student locus of control and
the Satisfaction of New York City high school wheelchair users. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, New York University.
Howell (2005), ‘Higher Education Monitor’, South African Higher Education response to Students
with Disabilities, Equity of Access and Opportunity, University of the Western Cape’,
Council of Higher Education, No.3, September, 2005.
Howell, Lazarus, (2003), ‘Access and participation of Students with Disabilities in South African
Higher Education: Challenging accepted truths and recognizing new possibilities’, Perspectives
in Education, Vol.21 (3), September 2003.
Moisey, (2004), Students with Disabilities in Distance Education: Characteristics, Course
enrollment, Journal of Distance Education, Spring, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2004.
NCPEDP Survey (2004).
Pfeiffer, D. (2000), The Devil is in the Details: the ICIDH2 and the Disability Movement. Disability
and Society, 15 (7), pp: 1079-82.
Parsons, T. (1951), The Social System. New York: Free Press.
Schneid, T.D. (1992), The Americans with Disabilities Act: A practical guide for Managers. New
York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Singh, D. K. (2003), Students with disabilities and higher education, Journal of American College
Health, 53(5), 210.
Singh, J. P., & Dash. M. K. (2005), ‘Disability and Development in India’, Rehabilitation Council
of India, New Delhi, 2005.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (1997), ‘Provision
for Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: A survey’ University of Cambridge, Teaching
Students with Visual Impairments, Disability Research Centre, Cambridge. Accessed on
12th July 2010, from http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/disability/practice/pdf/visual.pdf
Wilson, K., & Getzel, E. (2001), Creating a supportive campus: The VCU professional development
academy. The Journal for Vocational Special Needs Education, 23(2), 12-18.
Wilson, Tinkling, & Ridell (2003), ‘Disabled students and Multiple Policy Innovations in Higher
Education’ Research briefing for learning and Teaching support Networks, Website.