Hyderabad: From lack of computer literacy and need for sensitisation of students as well as faculty for a barrier free atmosphere in universities to ending discrimination in selections for jobs in the private sector, students with disabilities say that a lot is left to be desired inside and outside campuses to include the disabled in the mainstream.
That is also this year’s theme for World Disability Day on December 3 – “Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities”. A visually challenged girl who is an alumnus of University of Hyderabad said, “Like any parent, my father wanted to provide me with the best of education.
As convent schools in Abids are well known, he took me there for admission. However, none of the schools offered me a seat. Some of them directly said that if they admitted me, performance of their school might go down. I was admitted in a special school run by the government where I could not stay for more than a year because nothing was taught.
Teachers were not bothered. As part of my M.Phil project I visited some government special schools recently, where nothing had changed.” She added, “When it comes to jobs in the private sector, it does happen that disabled students are selected initially but are cleverly not selected after the training period. Often companies do not have the accessibility software or equipment in offices required for specially abled people.”
Bhupathi, a visually challenged research scholar from Tamil Nadu studying at UoH said, “Many visually challenged students are not computer literate and are completely dependent on older methods of learning like someone reading out aloud to them or braille because of which they cannot compete effectively against other students. I am good with the accessibility software because of which I can finish and submit assignments even before students who are not disabled.”
He added, “In educational institutions the attitude of many teachers and fellow students is that of charity towards disabled students. While mechanisms like disability cells are in place, only these cannot make disabled students feel included. From behaviour to teaching, attitudes need to change.”
