Why is it that society constructs disability in a way that education and employment are not made accessible to persons with disabilities? The economic exclusion of disabled people has been a significant issue at all times. Even though India is a country where we see physical development taking place every other day, certain factors are acting as a catalyst in bringing down the rate of physical development in our country and negatively impacting our gross economic growth. One of these factors is disabled people not getting the right amount of education and employment opportunities. This ultimately leads to an increase in the poverty rate and raises questions about the ability of People with Disability. Additionally, there are high chances that an increase in poverty is a result of various disabilities because of the poor living conditions of people.
Young adults with visual impairments experience a twin burden of attitudinal and access obstacles, which hinders their employment inclusion. Vision-impaired people face difficulties to get employment worldwide. Employers tend to discriminate against vision-impaired people during the recruitment process in developed as well as developing countries. The absence of help, support and access to the right tools and alternatives may be one reason for the poor/paltry representation of disabled people in some of the biggest Indian companies.
The government implemented actions that include reservations in government jobs, tax exemptions and skill-enhancement training for People with disabilities. However, disabled people still face discrimination in the workplace, receive lower wages and are expected to have limited participation than others. Reduction in demand for goods and services produced by disabled people and challenges in establishing business contacts act as barriers to entrepreneurship for disabled people.
According to a World Bank Report released in 2009, disabled children in India are five times more likely to not get admission to the school than other children who belong to SC/ST and have low attendance.
Children with multiple disabilities and mental illness who didn't attend any educational institution were recorded at 54% and 50%, respectively. Illiteracy levels are high across all categories of disability, especially in children with visual, multiple, and mental disabilities. These reports showed how India lacked in terms of providing access to education to children with disabilities.
This exclusion will not only impact the lives of children with disabilities, but it will also negatively affect the national economic growth as their chances of contributing to the human capital will drastically decrease. Even if children with disabilities attend school, their education lasts till the primary level only. It ultimately leads to lower prospects for employment and long-term income poverty.
Now of the 21.9 million people with a disability, 75 % were reported to be in rural areas and 65.5 % were unemployed (Indian Census, 2001). In rural areas, having a mental disability, over other disabilities, has been reported to decrease the likelihood of employment. In urban areas, being female and illiterate decreased the likelihood of employment but having sight, mental and movement impairment (compared to other disabilities) increased the likelihood of employment.
Education is critical for disabled children to develop skills that enable them to gain employment. Inclusive education not only has economic advantages but can also reduce discrimination against children with disabilities.
Appropriate policies, schemes and strategic transitions can improve livelihood opportunities for disabled people with around half of them in India having the potential to be employed in the banking and financial services sector. Technology and retail are directing the way in skilling and building employment opportunities for the people with disabilities. The banking and financial services sector is another emerging sector for people with disability.
The new draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities that will replace the 2006 policy once approved, calls for developing a network of 'Cross Disability Early Intervention Centres' (CDEICS) in every district of the country. The new draft policy emphasises that a comprehensive national programme on the prevention of disability should be developed not only to take care of the entire gamut of disabilities covered under the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act 2016 but also other medical conditions which are considered as risk cases that may manifest into any form of disability.
Per the Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT) Launch, "Improving the assistive technology system means developing and strengthening its four components: products, provision, personnel and policies". This includes that enabling environments - physical, legal and supportive - are set in place to promote participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
By: Arman Ali
Also Read: All about Safety of Women in the Workplace
Also Watch: