A Policy Brief For Inclusive Educational Environment, And Formulating A Universal Design For Disability Friendly Educational Institutions.

Disability is a nuanced term, where it must be understood that it isn’t the person that is disabled, it’s the environment that makes them disabled. Here, normality is an infrastructure sourced creation, and the disabled people are the ones deliberately left out. Global access to assistive technology remains a concern, with 2.5 billion people currently needing it, projected to rise to 3.5 billion by 2050 Despite high demand, access to Assistive Technology remains limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where as few as 3% of individuals have access compared to 90% in high-income nations. Specific needs like mobility and hearing aid access are particularly lacking, with only 5- 35% of those needing wheelchairs having them and less than 10% of global demand for hearing aids being met. Nearly one billion people requiring assistive products lack access, primarily in low- and middle-income countries, contrary to the goals of Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology (GATE). Rising noncommunicable diseases and road traffic accidents are expected to further increase demand for assistive devices, exacerbating existing challenges. Articles 5 and 24(1) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) underscore the right to education without discrimination, yet disparities persist. This policy brief underscores the need for teacher training programmes and the inclusion ofAT in the national healthcare schemes, to ensure maximum inclusion and ajust society. The policy briefwill focus on Assisted Technology and tech-based measures to create personalised equipment in education institutions. Skilled personnel are vital for the effective provision of assistive products, and without them, assistive products may be ineffective, unused, or even pose physical risks and reduced cost ofAT by government subsidies, establishing a standard price for AT, grants to manufacturers, mass production, cost-sharing, integrating mainstream technologies with accessibility and buying devices that can be used by multiple users, which could all be done by the integration ofAT in the national health welfare scheme. The G20 countries have both a duty and an obligation (in terms of ratifying CRPD), whereby a channelized endowment needs to be put forth and a more encompassing convention needs to be introduced so that it creates a binding force on the nations to take up this issue.