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Prerna Kapoor
Independent Researcher
Delhi, India
Abstract
The Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 marked a watershed moment in India’s commitment to universal elementary education, constitutionally guaranteeing every child aged 6–14 the right to free and compulsory schooling. However, as the global educational landscape rapidly shifts toward online and blended learning modalities—accelerated by the COVID‑19 pandemic and supported by widespread digital initiatives—it has become evident that guaranteeing physical access alone is no longer sufficient. True educational equity in the twenty‑first century demands that all learners, regardless of ability, geography, or socio‑economic status, have equal and meaningful access to digital learning materials. Digital format accessibility therefore emerges as a critical determinant of whether the promise of RTE can translate into real learning outcomes. This manuscript critically examines the intersection of the RTE framework and digital accessibility standards, mapping existing policy provisions alongside international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Accessible India Campaign. Through a mixed‑methods approach, including a cross‑sectional survey of 250 students spanning urban private, urban government, rural government, and residential special‑education schools, we assess hardware availability, internet reliability, and the presence of assistive technologies—screen readers, text‑to‑speech engines, captioned videos, and alternative input devices. Quantitative findings reveal stark disparities: while 78% of visually impaired urban students report access to screen‑reader‑compatible materials, only 24% of their rural peers do; captioned videos reach 64% of urban hearing‑impaired learners but just 29% in rural areas. Qualitative insights underscore barriers at the level of teacher preparedness, community support, and regional‑language content. Drawing on these findings, we propose comprehensive policy amendments to the RTE rules—mandating minimum digital‑accessibility standards for all government‑funded content, embedding Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in teacher‑education curricula, and establishing a centralized open‑source repository of accessible educational resources in all major Indian languages. Public–private partnerships, targeted subsidies for assistive devices, and NGO‑driven “Digital Inclusion Hubs” are recommended to bridge infrastructure gaps. By situating digital format accessibility at the heart of RTE’s mandate, this paper offers a roadmap for transforming legislative intent into inclusive practice, ensuring that no child is left behind in India’s digital education revolution.
Keywords
RTE Act 2009; digital accessibility; inclusive education; assistive technology; e‑learning equity
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