BENGALURU: Amid ongoing debates around inclusivity in education and the private job sector, the Government of Karnataka has drafted The Karnataka Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities in Private Employment and Education) Bill, 2025.
The proposed legislation seeks to introduce a minimum of five per cent of total job vacancies for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in private companies and 10 per cent of total seats for children who are differently abled in educational institutions. The Bill aims to strengthen the goals of the Right to Education and ensure genuine access to lifelong learning.
Several non-governmental organisations working for Persons with Disabilities, as well as higher education institutions, have welcomed the move.
Mahantesh G. Kivadasannavar, Founder of Samarthanam, said, “We are happy that the government is making the right move towards inclusion. At the same time, at Samarthanam, we are also training people with disability for relevant skills that can help them get a job as data analysts, social media manager and more in the private sector. We will work towards empowering them so that people with disabilities become an asset in the private job sector and not a burden.”
Similarly, Shanti Raghavan, Founder of EnAble India, said, “Institutions should use this gap, in accessing education, as an opportunity to lead. From the lens of Purple Economy, which creates opportunities by making products and services accessible to people with disabilities, these edge cases are the design brief: equip schools to teach children with disabilities and you end up solving for every learner, including those from difficult home environments or with emerging cognitive challenges.
When every teacher has baseline inclusive skills and materials are born-accessible, classrooms run better for all, outcomes improve, and the system becomes easier to emulate because people can see the value, and the economic value.”
Prof Ram Kumar Kakani, Vice-Chancellor of RV University, said, “Currently, we have about 10 students with varying requirements. We have designed our campus and courses that are accessible for people with physical and learning disabilities. We have ramps, barrier-free pathways, and lifts across academic blocks to ease mobility.
Additionally, we offer exam support, accommodations and interventions for students with learning disabilities. We have open course materials, with braille support.”
At Bangalore University, Jnana Bharathi campus, the administration provides a monthly scholarship of ₹1,200 for undergraduate PwD students and ₹1,500 for postgraduate students.
Jaikar, Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, said, “In 2023–2024, we have spent nearly ₹12.63 lakh for scholarships for PwD students. In this academic year, we have nearly 33 students and 36 students last academic year with different disabilities studying various courses at the University. And the campus has been disable friendly for a long time now.”
This story is reported by Rashmi Patil of The New Indian Express.
