HEPSN: Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (Persons with Disabilities Scheme in Colleges)

What is HEPSN?

HEPSN, Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (also referred to as the Persons with Disabilities scheme in colleges): is a scheme of the University Grants Commission (UGC), under the Ministry of Education. According to the UGC, the scheme exists to create an environment in higher-education institutions that enriches the learning experience of students with disabilities and improves their access to college and university education.

HEPSN began during the Ninth Five-Year Plan and was continued through the Tenth and Eleventh Plans. It is an institutional grant scheme: the UGC funds recognised colleges and universities to build the facilities and support that students with disabilities need. It does not pay money directly to individual students, that is the single most important thing to understand about it. A student with a disability benefits from the scheme by studying at a supported institution, not by receiving a personal HEPSN grant.

Key facts

• Run by: University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education.
• Nature: grants to institutions, not to individuals.
• Covers: enabling units, campus accessibility, and assistive equipment.
• Beneficiaries on the ground: students with visual, hearing or locomotor disability enrolled in UGC-recognised colleges.

What does HEPSN fund?

According to the HEPSN guidelines, assistance to an eligible institution is organised around three broad components.

1. Establishing enabling units. The institution sets up an enabling unit, a support cell: to counsel students with disabilities on the courses they can take, help ensure their admission, spread information on fee concessions and examination facilities, and assess what assistive devices each student needs. Under the plan-period norms this component carries a coordinator honorarium (reported at around Rs 4,000 per month) and about Rs 50,000 per year for running the unit.

2. Providing access to the built environment. HEPSN funds physical accessibility so that students with disabilities can move around the campus: ramps, rails, accessible toilets and similar works. Under the plan-period guidelines this was set at up to Rs 5 lakh per college during the plan period, as a one-time grant.

3. Providing special equipment. HEPSN supports the purchase of assistive technology and reader services to enrich the learning of students with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairment. Under the plan-period guidelines this was set at up to Rs 1.5 lakh per college for the plan period.

Because these are plan-period figures, an institution should confirm the currently applicable amounts and norms with the UGC before applying; the scheme's structure has been stable but the grant ceilings are revised across plan cycles.

Who is eligible for HEPSN?

HEPSN eligibility is about institutions, not individuals.

A college or university can apply if:

• It is recognised by the UGC under Sections 2(f) and 12B of the UGC Act.
• It has students with disabilities: visual, hearing or locomotor impairment — already enrolled in its courses.
• It constitutes the required expert committee; including faculty, experts in the field and persons with disabilities themselves: to oversee the unit and meet as prescribed.

Who cannot apply:

• Individual students cannot apply for a personal grant under HEPSN. The scheme has no citizen application and no personal cash benefit. A student with a disability seeking support should approach the enabling unit or disability coordinator of a HEPSN-supported college.
• Institutions not recognised under Sections 2(f) and 12B, or with no enrolled students with disabilities, are outside the scheme's scope.

How to apply for HEPSN

HEPSN is applied for by the institution, not by a student. The route is:

1. The college or university confirms its UGC recognition under Sections 2(f) and 12B and identifies the HEPSN component(s) it needs, enabling unit, accessibility works, or special equipment.
2. It constitutes the required expert committee and sets up (or plans) the enabling unit, documenting the students with disabilities enrolled.
3. It submits a project application in the UGC prescribed proforma, along with its College Development proposal, to the UGC for the chosen component.
4. On sanction, it implements the works or purchases and maintains records.
5. For continuing components, it files the utilisation certificate and audited statements the UGC requires before subsequent instalments are released.

A student with a disability, meanwhile, takes a different practical step: approach the enabling unit or disability coordinator of the college to use its counselling, access facilities and assistive equipment, and to learn about fee concessions and examination support.

A note for readers

HEPSN is an institutional accessibility scheme, not a scholarship, so its verifiable material centres on the three grant components, the eligibility of colleges and the institutional application route. The grant ceilings quoted here are plan-period figures and should be confirmed with the UGC for the current year. Readers looking for a direct scholarship or cash benefit for a student with a disability should look to dedicated scholarship schemes rather than HEPSN, which funds facilities at the institution.

Help and where to verify

• University Grants Commission (UGC), Ministry of Education, for the current HEPSN guidelines, proforma and grant ceilings.
• The enabling unit / disability coordinator at the college. The point of contact for a student who wants to use HEPSN-funded facilities.
• The relevant UGC scheme page for differently-abled students, for the list of components and application details.