Further obstacles for students with disabilities due to Covid-19

Adv Ntshavheni Netshituni (Braille Proofreader & Transcriber: ARCSWiD)

Unisa’s Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students With Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides support to students living with disabilities to enable them to advance in the higher education system.  Speaking at the recent Management Lekgotla, Advocate Ntshavheni Netshituni, a braille proofreader and transcriber attached to the centre, said that changes brought about by Covid-19 posed additional challenges to such learners.

Netshituni highlighted the destruction that was brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as follows: “Because of the pandemic, assessment methods have been changed, including assessment methods that were introduced in 2021. We have segments within the Unisa community that would require different kinds of assessment. If you begin to favour one student over another, you are inadvertently discriminating against students living with disabilities.”

He further discussed enrolment challenges caused by the pandemic. “Over the years,” he noted, “the enrolment of students with various disabilities averaged between 4 000 and 4 500. During the 2020 academic year, the numbers started dwindling. In 2021, the university enrolled approximately 3 600 students with disabilities; however, the total dropped to around 2 600 disabled students in 2022.”

In addition to the pandemic, some of the causes for this decline listed by Netshituni are delays in the provision of study material, issues surrounding National Student Financial Aid Scheme bursaries, a lack of response from publishers and poor delivery of assistive devices.

In his recommendations, Netshituni suggested that the university should review its policies on students with disabilities. He said that proper and meaningful consultations with ARCSWID are needed to provide required support adequately and relevantly to students with disabilities. He proposed the introduction of a disability desk and strengthening partnerships with publishers to ensure representation and cooperation.

*By Lesego Chiloane-Ravhudzulo, Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement