Accessibility Status of Central Government Universities in India
We always believe that any learning should come from education and educational institutions. In India, if not more, at least we are talking about digital accessibility since 2008 (I’m saying it as that is the year when Government of India has published Guidelines for Indian Government Websites). There are about 46 universities run by Central Government of India. We have conducted a quick accessibility audit of websites of all these central universities with two parameters in mind:
- Total number of accessibility violations
- Number of color contrast issues
We have not conducted a full audit of each home page; but have done a quick audit using automated testing tool aXe by Deque Systems Inc.
There is only “Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University meets the closest requirement of WCAG 2.0 AA compliance.
There found one website that has 300 WCAG 2.0 violations just on the home page. Below is a quick snapshot of how these websites are doing from WCAG 2.0 prospective.
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There found one website that hos more than 200 color contrast issues. Below is a snapshot of how these portals are doing from color contrast prospective. Many sites have more color contrast issues than other violations; this clearly indicates importance of why accessibility needs to be considered at the design stage itself.
[visualizer id=”861″]
Below table shows list of WCAG 2.0 violations and number of color contrast issues against each website.
| University Name | No. of WCAG 2.0 issues | Color Contrast issues |
|---|---|---|
| Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh | 103 | 84 |
| Assam University, Assam | 33 | 15 |
| Tezpur University, Assam | 16 | 0 |
| Central University of South Bihar | 16 | 3 |
| Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar | 34 | 1 |
| Nalanda University, Bihar | 9 | 4 |
| Guru Ghasidas University | 300 | 1 |
| Indira Gandhi National Open University | 29 | 17 |
| Jamia Milia Islamia | 128 | 56 |
| Jawaharlal Nehru University | 28 | 2 |
| South Asian University, Delhi | 9 | 4 |
| University of Delhi | 8 | 7 |
| Central University of Gujarat | 127 | 6 |
| Central University of Haryana | 21 | 6 |
| Central University of Himachal Pradesh | 36 | 9 |
| Central University of Jammu | 229 | 218 |
| Central University of Kashmir | 128 | 17 |
| Central University of Jharkhand | 49 | 0 |
| Central University of Karnataka | 28 | 25 |
| Central University of Kerala | 24 | 14 |
| Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University | 93 | 6 |
| Indira Gandhi National Tribal University | 124 | 17 |
| Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi VishwaVidyalaya,Wardha | 83 | 2 |
| Central Agricultural University | 19 | 15 |
| Manipur University | 13 | 0 |
| North Eastern Hill University | 27 | 10 |
| Mizoram University | 12 | 2 |
| Nagaland University | 18 | 0 |
| Central University of Orissa | 57 | 12 |
| Pondicherry University | 18 | 6 |
| Central University of Punjab | 83 | 14 |
| Central University of Rajasthan | 26 | 0 |
| Sikkim University | 31 | 4 |
| Central University of Tamil Nadu | 41 | 7 |
| Indian Maritime University | 27 | 0 |
| English and Foreign Languages University | 54 | 2 |
| Maulana Azad National Urdu University | 35 | 0 |
| Univeristy of Hyderabad | 20 | 10 |
| Tripura University | 40 | 19 |
| Aligarh Muslim University | 43 | 7 |
| University of Allahabad | 21 | 9 |
| Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University | 48 | 11 |
| Banaras Hindu University | 66 | 5 |
| The Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University | 51 | 3 |
| HEMVATI NANDAN BAHUGUNA GARHWAL UNIVERSITY | 1 | 0 |
If we can get these institutions educated on accessibility and make these websites accessible would lead journey of inclusion to a long way. Let’s spread the word!
Great effort. We’re certainly open for necessary changes. This is a timely survey, and we’ll definitely push the idea of accessibility.
Great effort! This would be a definite eye-opener not just for these universities but also for anybody reading this as this would invoke the thought of how one can incorporate these in their field make it all inclusive. Much needed at this hour. Better late than never!
Thank you Ahila for reading.