EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education and its importance in the national development is widely recognized all over the world. It focusses on enhancing peoples knowledge and skills and it is seen as a transformational tool. Higher education system in India experienced a phenomenal change and is recognized as a powerful instrument for socioeconomic advancement and a vehicle for upward social mobility for deprived and marginalized sections. Although expansion of higher education in India has led to an improvement in participation rates in higher education, inequality in access to higher education with regard to parameters such as socio-economic class, gender, region, and location, which were seen in 1995, also persisted in present scenario. In the context of India the main bases of exclusion are region, religion, caste, gender, economic disparities, and disabilities. The most recent National Education Policy 2020, placed significant emphasis on equity and inclusion and is committed to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which promotes inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all The NEP 2020 aims to increase the GER to 50 percent by 2035. Along with structural transformation in academic programmes such as four-year degree courses, one-year master’s, and new credit accumulation frameworks such as Academic Bank of Credits, NEP 2020 emphasized the education of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs). More flexibility in learning and credit accumulation, integration of curricular and co-curricular activities, and promotion of Indian languages are expected to promote equity and inclusion in higher education (Ministry of Education 2020). Therefore this article emphasises to outlines the equity and inclusion in Higher Education, aspects of NEP 2020.