TWINTECH

Sunday July 29, 2007

A helping hand

From counseling to building more ramps, there is so much more that universities can do to make the lives of disabled students easier.

By RICHARD LIM
educate@thestar.com.my

MANY disabled students find it difficult to make the transition from secondary school to university, says International University College of Technology Twintech (IUCTT) vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Ismail Mohd Salleh.

“Disabled students lack counsel about things like subject choices. Universities must adopt a more proactive approach to meet their needs.

"A resource centre that caters specifically to the disabled is a must" - DATUK DR ISMAIL MOHD SALLEH

“A resource centre that caters specifically to disabled students is a must,” says Dr Ismail, who is visually-impaired himself and also president of the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB).

There should be greater acceptance of their presence amongst the university community, he adds.

However, disabled students should also strive to mix with others so that they can be counted as “visible” members of society and contribute more towards nation building.

Dr Ismail concedes that the private sector is usually in a better position to cater to the needs of disabled students compared to public institutions, partly due to their smaller size and newer infrastructure.

IUCTT, for example, offers a diploma programme in sign language as well as courses for autism instructors. In September, the university college will also be offering a higher national diploma in information technology for visually-impaired students.

There are many examples of the private sector’s initiative in giving education opportunities to the disabled.

LimKokWing University of Creative Technology, for instance, sponsors hearing-impaired students while the University of Nottingham's new Semenyih campus is extremely disabled-friendly, says Dr Ismail.

Presently, MAB supports visually-impaired students by assigning transcribers for examinations and setting up an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centre to impart technological skills. The association also provides scholarships and attachment training for deserving students.

“I hope that the performance of our disabled athletes at the Paralympics, coupled with greater government intervention on campus, will translate into a higher level of acceptance of disabled students,” says Dr Ismail