Cells

Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs)

1. 1. Introduction:

Accessibility of quality education to all has been a major challenge in countries all over the world. In India, there are several disadvantaged groups, such as women, minorities, SCs and STs, OBCs, PwDs, EWSs, who lag behind others in the field of education. Taking all together in the development of the nation is the prime goal of the Government of India. Accordingly, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes the need to address the issues of students belonging to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).

The students belonging to SEDGs face several challenges and difficulties in accessing quality education because of socio-cultural, economic, and historical reasons. The NEP 2020 has indicated people with the following identities as Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) and emphasized on their increased participation, particularly in higher education:

1. Gender Identity:
   • Female (Girls and Women make up about half of all SEDGs and, in particular, those

belonging to underrepresented groups have multiple disadvantages)

1. • Transgender.
2. Social Backwardness Identity:
   • Scheduled Castes (SCs)
   • Scheduled Tribes (STs)
3. Educational and Economic Backward Identity:
   • Non-Creamy Layer among Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
   • Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs)
   • Students from the vernacular medium schools
   • First Generation Learners
4. Minority Identity:
   • Religious Minorities
   • Linguistic Minorities
5. Persons with Disabilities and Benchmark Disabilities.
   • A person with long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment,
   • A person with not less than forty percent of a specified disability as certified by the

certifying authority.

1. Vulnerable and Low Socio-economic conditions:
   • Migrant communities, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes
   • Low-income households Below Poverty Line (BPL)
   • Child beggars and Children in vulnerable situations

1. • Victims of or Children of victims of trafficking
   • Students who lost their parents
   • Any other group of low socio-economic conditions
2. Less-developed, poor-access, and disadvantaged locations:
   • Villages and towns
   • Tribal Areas /Scheduled Areas as mentioned in the V and VI Schedule under the

Constitution of India

• • Slums
  • Aspirational Areas with Special Educational Zones (SEZs)
  • North East States
  • Islands
  • Conflict Prone Areas
  • Disaster-prone areas, including flood, drought, earthquake, etc.
  • Border Areas

Accomplishing the goals of NEP 2020 is considered necessary to help India addressing effectively the challenges of her commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, particularly the challenges related to achieving SDG-4 (quality education), SDG-5 (gender equality), SDG-1 (no poverty), and SDG-8 (decent work and economic growth). These guidelines are meant to ensure that students belonging to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) have a safe and secure environment and equitable access to quality education in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), as specified in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and quality assessment of HEIs as under relevant criteria of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

1. 1. Objectives:
      1. Improving equitable access to quality education for SEDGs through bridge courses, earn- while-learn, and outreach programme;
      2. Extending and ensuring basic facilities and amenities to SEDGs for inclusive, healthy, safe, and secure environments on campuses; and
      3. Setting up SEDGs Cell for the purpose of sensitization of all stakeholders, policy implementation, monitoring, equalizing access to inclusive quality higher education, ensuring respectful dignity, promoting egalitarian and constitutional values, and grievance redressal in the HEIs.

The following measures are suggested in the NEP 2020 to achieve the above objectives:

1. Make admission processes more inclusive.
2. Make the curriculum more inclusive.
3. Develop bridge courses for students from disadvantaged educational backgrounds.
4. Ensure sensitization of faculty, counselors, and students on the gender-identity issue and its inclusion in all aspects of the HEI, including curricula.
5. Strictly enforce all no-discrimination and anti-harassment rules.
6. Develop a road map that contains specific plans for action on increasing participation from SEDGs, including but not limited to the above items.