“Imperative Role of Open and Distance Education for Inclusion of Differently Abled Students”

Open and Distance learning is an approach to learning that gives students flexibility and choice over what, where, when and how they learn. ODL is not the same thing as the conventional education. It is now an established fact that the information communication technology (ICT) based emerging technologies has the potential to bring in a paradigm shift in educational procedure and outcome. Distance education was provided initially using the postal system through delivery of printed study materials. Distance education is increasingly using combinations of different technologies to improve communication between educators and learners. Today, technological innovations and advancement using computers, mobile and fast speed internet connectivity can be used to reach the unreached by reducing the accessibility gaps encompassing the drop outs and differently abled. Differently abled was first proposed (in the 1980s) as an alternative to disabled, handicapped, etc. on the grounds that it gave a more positive message and so avoided discrimination towards people with disabilities. Distance learning gives a wide scope to the differently abled students with physical impaired, visually impaired, and auditory impaired by opening new horizons to learning. Thus keeping this in mind, we need to work in the direction of providing access to the differently abled students. The infrastructure at the regional centre is generally not friendly to students with differently abled students. In view of these, it is recommended that the open and distance learning universities need to pays attention to theadmission policy, infrastructure, and training of lecturers from the different departments so as to beresponsive to the needs of students with differently abled students.