E-Paper
Digital literacy: Invisible barriers for disabled learners
This article is authored by Anchal Bhatheja, research fellow, Vidhi Center for Legal Policy and consultant, Mission Accessibility and Founder, QAble.
Each year, International Literacy Day (ILD) prompts nations to reflect on the meaning of literacy in an evolving world. This year, as India observed ILD on September 8, 2025 under the theme “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era,” it is time to confront an uncomfortable question: Literacy for whom?
For India’s over 26.8 million persons with disabilities (PwDs), this push for digital literacy has largely translated into digital exclusion. From online classrooms to private coaching centres—gateways to opportunity in a distressed job market—accessibility is not just lacking, it is absent.
Nowhere is this more visible than in the private coaching industry, which dominates India’s exam-preparation landscape but has systematically shut out disabled aspirants, despite collecting full fees.
In today’s India, coaching is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. With over 70% of government job aspirants in Hindi-speaking states like Bihar, West Bengal, and Jharkhand relying on private coaching ,it has become the only viable ladder for millions seeking upward mobility. In Bihar alone, 72% of students in Classes 1-8 take paid tuition. In West Bengal, that number is 74%.
This trend is shaped by a grim reality. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023, over 50% of rural students between 14–18 years struggle with basic division, and 42.7% cannot read simple English sentences. Nearly 70% couldn’t measure using a ruler correctly, or solve basic time and ratio problems. But for disabled students, even this fallback system is structurally inaccessible.
In 2018, while preparing for CLAT, I requested accessible PDFs from a leading coaching institute. They refused, citing copyright concerns. This, despite Section 52(zb) of the Copyright Act, which permits the reproduction of learning material in accessible formats for persons with disabilities.
Then In 2020, I joined a popular online UPSC platform. The website was not screen-reader friendly. Video lectures could not be paused or navigated easily. When I asked for remediation, I was bounced between executives. When I requested a refund, I was denied. I had paid full price—for a service I could not use.
This is the lived reality of thousands of disabled aspirants forced to battle a system that charges them more—emotionally, physically, financially—for less or nothing.
India’s disability law is not silent. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD Act), 2016, under Sections 40, 42, and 46, mandates accessibility across digital services. Rule 15 of the RPwD Rules requires all establishments to comply with notified accessibility standards.
In May 2023, the government notified BIS 17802—the national standard for web accessibility. All public and private entities were given two years (till 10 May 2025) to make digital platforms compliant. We are already four months over and above the deadline. But the statutory mandate has barely translated into implementation.
Then on January 16, 2024, the ministry of education introduced the Registration and Regulation of Coaching Centre Guidelines after a series of alarming developments—rising student suicides, exploitative fee structures, and reports of misleading advertisements by private coaching institutes.
The guidelines mandated a range of reforms: Registration requirements, tutor qualifications, infrastructure safety, mental health provisions, and ethical advertising practices. Significantly, they also included specific provisions for enhancing the representation of vulnerable and marginalised groups, including PwDs.
Coaching centres are now legally required to comply with the RPWD Act. This includes ensuring physical accessibility—such as ramps, accessible toilets, and barrier-free classrooms—as well as digital and academic accessibility, including screen-reader-compatible materials, Braille support, e-readers, and tailored instruction for students with learning disabilities. The guidelines also recognise the need for sensitivity training among tutors to better support neurodiverse students. Moreover, regulatory authorities were empowered to impose penalties of ₹25,000 for the first offence, ₹1 lakh for repeat offences, and to cancel the registration of non-compliant centres.
But in reality, neither coaching centres nor edtech platforms have complied. Their portals remain incompatible with assistive technologies. Video content lacks captions or transcripts. PDFs are not readable by screen readers. Navigation is mouse-dependent. Login portals time out if a user with motor impairment types slowly.
India’s coaching industry is worth over ₹58,000 crore ($7 billion), growing steadily each year. Yet, accessibility remains absent from their product roadmaps.
Over and above edtech startups. Most university and school portals, even public ones, are not compliant with BIS 17802. Admission forms, learning management systems, even digital libraries fail to meet basic accessibility standards.
In a country where 400 million people work in the informal sector, private employment offers neither security nor inclusion. As per an informal conversation with a recruitment organisation working with PwDs, disabled persons constitute less than 1% of employees in India’s top 100 companies. As a result, most disabled youth see government jobs as their only hope—jobs for which 4% reservations are guaranteed under Section 34 of the RPwD Act.
But the path to these jobs is blocked—first by poor schooling, then by coaching centres that refuse to accommodate.
There is no digital literacy without digital accessibility. And there is no inclusive economy if its very entry points—education and coaching—are designed to exclude. True literacy is not just the ability to read—but the freedom to learn.
This article is authored by Anchal Bhatheja, research fellow, Vidhi Center for Legal Policy and consultant, Mission Accessibility and Founder, QAble.
