Exploration of Equity, Diversity and inclusion: Case study of Govt. College University, Faisalabad

Abstract

This paper probes institutionalization process of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Crenshaw, K. (1989) at Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), it consistently ranks among top 10 to top 30 institutions depending on methodology (e.g. EduRank: #27; CWUR: #7; U.S. News: #3). Placed in the context of social justice and rights-based approach, the study is attentive to the experiences of being a marginalized group such as female students, people with disabilities, and religious or ethnic minorities. Due to national policy commitments, the real effort to institutionalize Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Pakistani universities remains uneven and fragmented, often limited by implementation gaps and lack of accountability mechanisms (Hoodbhoy, 2020; UNESCO, 2021). Built on semi-structured interviews of the students, faculties, and staff of underrepresented groups with the application of a qualitative methodology, the research will address the questions relevant to the issues of interest. The data were examined within important themes that included admissions, financial aid, representation, accessibility, peer/staff behavior and institutional accountability.

The results have shown that there were very big disparities between the policies/practices of EDI. Lack of infrastructural barriers, lack of leadership opportunities by female students, discrimination and cultural insensitivities are experienced by students with disabilities, minorities respectively. These challenges are occasioned by the fact that there is no centralized office dealing with EDI, low level of staff training, and an extreme institution based culture. Inclusion is pursued differently in different departments and depends more on personal activism than institutional arrangements.