ABSTRACT
An increasing number of students from marginalized socio-economic and educational backgrounds enter the Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) in the developing countries, thanks to the international consensus, affirmative action and national policy initiatives. However, many of the HEIs are not yet supportive enough for this sudden surge of diverse students and fail to help them to assimilate in the system after their enrolment. As a consequence, students perform poorly, feel isolated and discriminated against and sometimes dropout. The chapter analyzes these issues of integration, post enrolment, in the HEIs of the developing countries with a specific focus on Indian higher education and argues that there is a need for new inclusive approaches, with active participation of the stakeholders for their successful implementation. Based on the empirical findings of two national-level research studies, the chapter elaborates why the students from marginalized socio-economic educational strata often need special attention and support from the HEIs, especially from the teachers, and how they could change their interaction with the students to create an inclusive and cohesive learning environment.
