Discover how AI skilling for underprivileged students is becoming a reality with ProGame Tactile Plus — NS360's browser-based coding tool built for visually impaired learners.

# Every Student Deserves to Code: How ProGame Tactile Plus Is Making AI Education Accessible in India

Every student deserves a seat at the future of technology — yet for millions of visually impaired and differently-abled children across India, AI and coding education remains out of reach. The conversation around AI skilling for underprivileged students is growing louder, but tools that truly serve these learners are still rare. ProGame Tactile Plus by Next Skills 360 is changing that, one accessible block at a time.

Why AI Skilling for Underprivileged Students Cannot Wait

India's National Education Policy 2020 places inclusive education at the heart of its reform agenda, mandating equitable access to digital and future-ready skills for every learner. Yet on the ground, a stark gap persists. When we talk about AI skilling for underprivileged students, we need to expand the definition well beyond economic marginalisation — students with visual impairments and other disabilities are among the most underserved learners in India's coding education landscape.

State-level Samagra Shiksha Inclusion Cells are mandated to bridge this gap, but genuinely accessible tools remain critically scarce. Most coding curricula are designed for sighted learners, leaving special schools and inclusive mainstream classrooms without viable pathways to AI and computational thinking education.

Next Skills 360 EdTech Private Limited has already impacted 500+ students with disabilities through its inclusive skilling programmes since 2020 — a meaningful start, and a clear signal of what becomes possible when EdTech is designed with accessibility at its core rather than tacked on as an afterthought.

The Specific Barriers Visually Impaired Students Face in Coding Education

For educators at special schools and inclusive mainstream institutions, the barriers to inclusive coding for visually impaired students are well understood — and deeply frustrating. They tend to fall into three consistent categories.

First, visual-first interfaces. The vast majority of block programming platforms — including many widely deployed in Indian schools — are built around drag-and-drop interactions that are entirely inaccessible to screen-reader users. A student who cannot see the canvas simply cannot participate.

Second, poor screen-reader compatibility. Even platforms that claim accessibility often fail the practical test. Block elements are unlabelled, navigation is inconsistent, and the keyboard-only experience is broken or incomplete. Tools built for NVDA or JAWS as a genuine priority, rather than a compliance checkbox, are exceptionally rare in the K-12 EdTech market.

Third, teacher unpreparedness. Most educators in special schools and inclusive classrooms have received little or no training in assistive technology for coding education. Without teacher confidence, even the best tool goes unused. Addressing this barrier requires solutions that are genuinely intuitive for educators, not just technically accessible for students.

What Makes ProGame Tactile Plus Different

ProGame Tactile Plus is a browser-based, block-based programming environment built specifically for students with visual impairments, designed for Classes 5 and above. Unlike most coding platforms where accessibility is retrofitted, Tactile Plus is architected from the ground up for assistive technology navigation — meaning screen readers like NVDA and JAWS work as intended, without workarounds.

Being browser-based carries real practical advantages for schools. There is no app installation, no device-specific compatibility issue, and no procurement bottleneck — any computer with a browser and a screen reader can run it. For special schools operating with limited IT infrastructure, that simplicity matters enormously.

Tactile Plus is also distinct from its sibling product, ProGame Tactile — an audio-first Android app that introduces coding to visually impaired learners. Together, they represent a deliberate learning progression: Tactile as an accessible entry point, and Tactile Plus as a richer, browser-based block programming environment for students ready to go deeper. This is assistive technology for coding education done thoughtfully — not a single tool, but a connected pathway.

How Schools and State Departments Can Deploy Inclusive AI Skilling at Scale

For Samagra Shiksha Inclusion Cells and state education departments, scalability and procurement simplicity are non-negotiable. Next Skills 360 understands this reality well. Since its founding in Hyderabad in 2020, NS360 has been deployed across 1,200+ schools in 12+ Indian states, with a trained educator network of 10,000+ teachers and trainers — demonstrating that its programmes are built for systemic adoption, not pilot-only environments.

As a browser-based solution, ProGame Tactile Plus aligns naturally with Samagra Shiksha inclusion mandates and can slot into existing school IT infrastructure without new hardware procurement. State departments evaluating inclusive digital skilling programmes can deploy it at scale without the bottlenecks that typically slow EdTech adoption down.

NS360's credibility with institutional and government buyers is further strengthened by significant national and international recognition — including selection as an MIT Solver, receipt of the AI for Humanity Prize by the McGovern Foundation, and the ElevatED Award by Dell Technologies India and MeitY. These are not ceremonial honours; they reflect a programme that has been rigorously evaluated and validated by global and national bodies alike.

Real Impact: What Inclusive Coding Skilling Looks Like in Practice

Picture a Class 7 student with visual impairment in a special school in Telangana. Using ProGame Tactile Plus on a school computer with NVDA enabled, she navigates the block programming environment entirely through keyboard commands. She sequences logic blocks, builds simple programmes, and receives audio feedback at each step — never once requiring visual confirmation to understand what her code is doing.

This is not an accommodation. This is genuine participation in computational thinking education — the same foundational skill being taught to sighted peers across India's mainstream schools. By Class 8, she can progress to ProGame Tactile Pro, NS360's Python programming pathway for visually impaired learners, moving from block-based logic to career-ready coding skills.

This progression sits within a broader NS360 impact story: 240,000+ students impacted across India since 2020, spanning diverse geographies, school types, and learner profiles. Inclusive skilling is not a separate track — it is part of the same mission of making every Indian child future-ready.

Building a Truly Inclusive AI Skilling Ecosystem in Indian Schools

Inclusive AI skilling is not an act of charity — it is equity-driven future readiness. Every IT and CS department head in an inclusive mainstream school, and every administrator within a state inclusion cell, has both the mandate and the opportunity to close the accessibility gap in their coding curriculum today.

The first step is an honest audit: Are your current coding tools screen-reader compatible? Can a visually impaired student in your school participate fully in the same coding lesson as their sighted peers? If the answer is no — or uncertain — ProGame Tactile Plus offers a ready-to-deploy solution that requires no special infrastructure and no expert technical staff to implement.

Next Skills 360's inclusive skilling suite — from ProGame Tactile (audio-first Android app) to ProGame Tactile Plus (browser-based block programming) to ProGame Tactile Pro (Python for career readiness) — provides a complete learning pathway from Class 5 to career, designed specifically for visually impaired learners in Indian schools and vocational centres.

The infrastructure exists. The recognition is established. The pathway is clear. What remains is the decision to deploy it.

Ready to make AI skilling genuinely inclusive in your school or district? Explore ProGame Tactile Plus by Next Skills 360 and request a free demo at nextskills360.in — because every student deserves to code.

AI Skilling for Underprivileged Students: Inclusive EdTech in 2026

How the 2026 education policy is reshaping inclusive coding in Indian schools — and how ProGame Tactile Plus empowers visually impaired students with block programming.

# 2026 Education Policy: Inclusive Coding for Visually Impaired Students — What Schools Need to Know

India's 2026 education policy landscape is placing inclusive digital skilling at the centre of school reform, yet most coding tools still leave visually impaired learners behind. As Samagra Shiksha strengthens its inclusion mandates, schools need solutions that go beyond ramps and Braille — they need accessible programming environments. ProGame Tactile Plus by Next Skills 360 is purpose-built for exactly this moment.

What the 2026 Education Policy Means for Inclusive Digital Skilling

India's education reform momentum is unmistakable. The full implementation of NEP 2020, combined with evolving Samagra Shiksha inclusion guidelines and the foundational learning priorities embedded in the NIPUN/FLN framework, is creating a clear policy directive: digital and coding skills must be accessible to every student, including those with disabilities.

For school leaders, IT department heads, and State Inclusion Cell officials, this is no longer a peripheral concern. Samagra Shiksha's CWSN (Children with Special Needs) support frameworks now require demonstrable outcomes in inclusive digital learning. Annual UDISE reporting and grant accountability structures are increasingly scrutinising how schools are bridging the digital participation gap for students with visual impairments and other disabilities.

The 2026 education policy environment, in short, is raising the bar. Coding is becoming a core competency — and equity demands that no learner be excluded from that opportunity simply because existing tools were never designed with them in mind.

The Coding Access Gap: Why Visually Impaired Students Are Still Left Out

Walk into most school computer labs delivering coding education today, and the tools in use — block-based visual platforms, drag-and-drop interfaces, graphical IDEs — share one critical design flaw: they are built entirely around sight. For students with visual impairments, these environments are not just challenging; they are structurally inaccessible.

Screen readers cannot interpret most coding platforms meaningfully. Visual block arrangements carry no audio equivalent. The result is that students who are blind or have low vision are routinely excluded from computer science periods — not by intent, but by design oversight.

This exclusion is neither inevitable nor acceptable. Next Skills 360 has already impacted 500+ students with disabilities across India since 2020 through its inclusive skilling programmes, demonstrating that with the right tools, visually impaired learners can engage with coding confidently and independently. The gap is real — but it is solvable. What schools need is a purpose-built solution that works with the assistive technology students already rely on, not against it.

ProGame Tactile Plus: Browser-Based Block Programming Built for Accessibility

ProGame Tactile Plus by Next Skills 360 is a browser-based, block-based programming environment designed from the ground up for students with visual impairments. Built for Classes 5 and above, it enables accessible navigation using assistive technology — meaning students can engage with coding concepts using the screen readers and accessibility tools they already use in their daily learning.

The browser-based architecture is a significant practical advantage. There are no app installation barriers, no device-specific compatibility issues, and no dependence on proprietary hardware. If a school has a browser and a screen-reader-enabled device, ProGame Tactile Plus is ready to run.

Crucially, the platform empowers students to learn independently and with dignity — navigating blocks, understanding logic structures, and building programmes through accessible interaction patterns. For inclusion coordinators and IT heads, this means coding education can finally be delivered to visually impaired students within existing computer lab time, without requiring a separate, parallel infrastructure. ProGame Tactile Plus does not adapt around accessibility — it is built for it.

How Schools and Inclusion Cells Can Deploy ProGame Tactile Plus

Deploying ProGame Tactile Plus is designed to be practical across three distinct institutional contexts.

Special Schools for the Visually Impaired can integrate ProGame Tactile Plus as a structured core period within their computer science or vocational skilling timetable. The browser-based format suits existing computer lab setups with screen-reader-enabled devices.

Inclusive mainstream school IT and CS department heads can schedule dedicated sessions for CWSN students within regular computer lab time — no parallel lab or separate infrastructure required. Students with visual impairments join the coding curriculum meaningfully, alongside their peers.

State Samagra Shiksha Inclusion Cells can leverage ProGame Tactile Plus as a district-level inclusive coding pilot, with the confidence that Next Skills 360 has the implementation depth to support it. NS360 has been deployed in 1,200+ schools across 12+ Indian states, has trained 10,000+ educators nationwide, and has demonstrated the capacity to scale rapidly without procurement bottlenecks — making it a credible partner for state-level rollout.

Aligning ProGame Tactile Plus with 2026 Education Policy Goals and Compliance Needs

ProGame Tactile Plus directly addresses the intersection of multiple policy imperatives that schools and state departments must now satisfy.

NEP 2020's equity and inclusion vision calls explicitly for technology-enabled learning that reaches every child. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act mandates reasonable accommodation in education, which increasingly encompasses digital and coding participation. Samagra Shiksha's CWSN frameworks require schools to demonstrate active inclusion outcomes — not merely enrolment figures.

Adopting ProGame Tactile Plus enables schools and state departments to generate measurable, reportable inclusion outcomes — participation in coding sessions, progression through programming modules, and demonstrable skill development among visually impaired learners. These outcomes are directly relevant to UDISE reporting, Samagra Shiksha grant documentation, and state-level inclusion audits.

In the 2026 education policy landscape, schools that can demonstrate inclusive digital skilling will be better positioned for continued funding, recognition, and compliance — making ProGame Tactile Plus both an equity investment and a strategic one.

Next Steps: Bringing Accessible Coding to Your School in 2026

The 2026 education policy environment is rewarding schools and state departments that move decisively on inclusive digital learning. The tools now exist to ensure that visually impaired students are full participants in the coding generation — not afterthoughts.

For schools already on the inclusion journey, ProGame Tactile Plus fits within a broader accessible skilling pathway. ProGame Tactile, NS360's audio-first Android app, offers an entry point for foundational coding learning. ProGame Tactile Pro then takes students from Classes 8 upward into vocational Python programming with three progressive levels through to career-ready proficiency. Together, these solutions form a complete, accessible coding progression for visually impaired learners from middle school through to vocational readiness.

Next Skills 360, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Hyderabad, has earned 12 international and national recognitions — including the MIT Solver award and the AI for Humanity Prize — and has impacted 240,000+ students across India. The expertise, scale, and commitment to inclusion are in place.

Is your school ready to make coding truly inclusive in 2026? Connect with the Next Skills 360 team to see ProGame Tactile Plus in action — visit nextskills360.in or request a free demo for your special school, inclusive classroom, or Samagra Shiksha inclusion programme today.

Is your school ready to make coding truly inclusive in 2026? Connect with the Next Skills 360 team to see ProGame Tactile Plus in action — visit nextskills360.in or request a free demo for your special school, inclusive classroom, or Samagra Shiksha inclusion programme today.

2026 Education Policy: Inclusive Coding for Visually Impaired

Discover the top EdTech companies in Hyderabad in 2026, including NS360 whose ProGame Tactile Plus brings block coding to visually impaired students nationwide.

# Top EdTech Companies in Hyderabad to Watch in 2026

Hyderabad has quietly become one of India's most dynamic EdTech hubs, producing startups that go far beyond video lectures and test prep. Among them, a growing cohort of companies is redefining what inclusive, future-ready education looks like for every child — including those with disabilities. If you are a school leader, inclusion cell officer, or state education administrator looking for credible EdTech partners in 2026, this list is your starting point.

Why Hyderabad Is Emerging as India's Inclusive EdTech Capital

Hyderabad's EdTech ecosystem enjoys strong institutional backing from MeitY, HYSEA, T-Hub, and proactive state government initiatives that have made the city a fertile ground for education innovation. Unlike many metros where EdTech growth has been driven primarily by urban, affluent learners, Hyderabad's startup culture has taken a noticeably different turn — one oriented toward scale, equity, and real-world impact.

With NEP 2020 placing renewed emphasis on foundational skills, inclusive classrooms, and competency-based learning, and Samagra Shiksha mandating stronger disability inclusion across government-aided schools, Hyderabad-based companies have responded with solutions built for Bharat, not just its premium private schools. Several startups here are now developing products specifically designed for differently-abled learners, rural classrooms, and low-infrastructure environments — a distinction that sets Hyderabad apart in India's broader EdTech landscape and makes it worth watching closely in 2026.

What to Look for in a Credible EdTech Company in Hyderabad

For school principals, IT department heads, and state education officers, choosing the right EdTech partner is a high-stakes decision. The market is crowded, and not every company claiming impact can substantiate it. Here is a practical framework to guide your evaluation:

- Verified deployment numbers — how many schools and students has the company actually reached?
- Independent recognitions — national and international awards signal third-party validation beyond marketing claims
- Curriculum alignment — does the product map to NEP 2020, CBSE, or state board frameworks?
- Scalability without heavy infrastructure — can the solution be deployed across hundreds of schools without new hardware, labs, or server procurement?
- Inclusive design — is the product genuinely accessible to students with disabilities, or is inclusion an afterthought?

Companies with patented products, real deployment data, and a track record of working with government education programmes consistently outperform those with polished pitches but shallow proof points. Keep this framework in mind as you review the companies below.

Next Skills 360 — Hyderabad's Most Recognised Inclusive EdTech Startup

Next Skills 360 EdTech Private Limited (NS360), headquartered in Hyderabad and operating at [nextskills360.in](https://nextskills360.in), is arguably the city's most decorated inclusive EdTech company. Founded in 2020, NS360 has since impacted 240,000+ students across 1,200+ schools in 12+ Indian states, while training 10,000+ educators and directly supporting 500+ students with disabilities through its inclusive skilling programmes.

The company holds 12 international and national recognitions, including the MIT Solver Award, AI for Humanity Prize (McGovern Foundation), ElevatED Award (Dell Technologies India and MeitY), HYSEA Best Software Product, and the SKOCH Award for the Telangana Early Coders (TeC) Project — a record that signals both product credibility and social impact at scale.

NS360's portfolio spans coding, AI, robotics, foundational literacy, and inclusive skilling. At the heart of its disability inclusion suite is ProGame Tactile Plus — a browser-based, block-based programming environment designed specifically for students with visual impairments, built for full assistive technology navigation, and targeted at Classes 5 and above. It sits within a progressive coding pathway alongside ProGame Tactile (audio-first Android app) and ProGame Tactile Pro (Python programming to vocational level), giving special schools and inclusive mainstream schools a structured, end-to-end coding curriculum for visually impaired learners — precisely what NEP 2020 and Samagra Shiksha inclusion mandates demand.

Other Notable EdTech Companies Operating Out of Hyderabad in 2026

Beyond NS360, Hyderabad hosts a range of EdTech companies worth tracking in 2026 across several distinct categories:

Adaptive learning and assessment platforms form a growing segment, with companies using AI-driven personalisation to tailor content delivery based on individual learner performance — particularly relevant for large government school deployments where teacher-to-student ratios are high.

Vocational and employability skilling companies have found strong traction in Hyderabad, leveraging the city's IT ecosystem to deliver job-readiness programmes for secondary and post-secondary students, often in partnership with state skill development missions.

Early childhood and foundational literacy tech is another emerging category, with startups building multilingual, low-bandwidth tools for Classes 1–5 — designed for Anganwadi centres, primary schools, and home learning environments.

STEM and robotics lab solution providers are increasingly active, supplying hands-on learning kits and curricula to Atal Innovation Labs and smart classrooms across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Each of these segments reflects Hyderabad's broader shift toward purposeful, infrastructure-light EdTech built for scale across India's diverse school system.

How ProGame Tactile Plus Is Solving India's Inclusive Coding Gap

The uncomfortable reality of India's coding education boom is that most platforms — even widely celebrated ones — are visually dependent. Drag-and-drop interfaces, colour-coded blocks, and screen-centric navigation make them effectively inaccessible to students with visual impairments. The result: an entire population of learners is excluded from the computational thinking revolution happening in mainstream classrooms.

ProGame Tactile Plus is built to close this gap. As a browser-based, block-based programming environment, it is engineered from the ground up for assistive technology navigation — including screen readers and keyboard-only interaction — so that visually impaired students can engage with coding independently and meaningfully. Block programming removes the barrier of typed syntax, allowing students to develop genuine computational thinking skills from Class 5 onwards.

For Samagra Shiksha Inclusion Cell officers, this is particularly significant: ProGame Tactile Plus is a turnkey, curriculum-aligned solution that can be deployed across multiple special schools and resource rooms without procuring new hardware. Combined with NS360's track record of impacting 500+ students with disabilities since 2020, it represents a field-tested, scalable answer to one of India's most persistent inclusion gaps in school education.

How School Leaders and State Education Officers Can Engage with NS360

NS360 works directly with special schools, inclusive mainstream schools, and state education departments, making it a versatile partner for institutions at every level of the education system. With deployments spanning 1,200+ schools across 12+ Indian states, the company brings both the operational experience and the ground-level understanding needed to navigate real-world school environments.

For school IT and CS heads, NS360 can provide structured implementation support for ProGame Tactile Plus within existing timetables — with no new lab infrastructure required. For Samagra Shiksha inclusion officers, NS360 is equipped to discuss district-level or state-level deployment models that align with annual inclusion targets and ICP (Individualized Curriculum Plans) frameworks.

The recommended first step is simple: visit nextskills360.in, explore the Inclusive Skilling suite, and request a live product demonstration. The NS360 team is experienced in working with government education bodies and can tailor proposals to your school's or state's specific inclusion mandate.

Ready to bring accessible block coding to your visually impaired students? Visit nextskills360.in to request a live demo of ProGame Tactile Plus and explore how NS360 can support your school's inclusion goals in 2026.

Ready to bring accessible block coding to your visually impaired students? Visit nextskills360.in to request a live demo of ProGame Tactile Plus and explore how NS360 can support your school's inclusion goals in 2026.

ProGame Tactile Plus

AI Skilling for Underprivileged Students: Inclusive EdTech in 2026

2026 Education Policy: Inclusive Coding for Visually Impaired

Top EdTech Companies in Hyderabad to Watch in 2026

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