The Hindu Dharma Institute (IHDN) campus in Denpasar is not yet a
disabled-friendly academic environment for students with physical
disabilities.
The four-story building has no elevators or special ramps for students in wheelchairs, or the clear signs needed to guide students with visual impairments.
But these conditions have not hampered some students with disabilities from enrolling at the institute to pursue higher learning as the institute management has an open policy to accept students with physical disabilities.
Ida Bagus Rai Susila, head of IHDN’s academic department, said that since 2005 the Institute had been accepting students with visual impairments.
“Every year, we accept five students in the teaching and philosophy departments,” Susila said, adding that the institute did not yet provide opportunities for students with other physical disabilities.
Udayana University has not yet followed IHDN’s policy.
“We do not have any facilities for students with visual impairments. The lecturers and professors do not have the capacity or knowledge to teach blind students,” the university’s rector Ketut Suastika lamented.
In the university’s school of medicine, students who suffer from partial blindness or color blindness are not allowed to study. “But students with other physical disabilities, such as children who suffered from polio, may still be able to enroll in the school of medicine,” the rector said.
While the government has established schools and education centers for people with disabilities from elementary school to high school level, students wanting to pursue university courses still find it hard to continue their studies.
A number of social institutions and civil rights activists have been working hard on a proposed bylaw about special education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
It is expected that the bylaw can be ratified by the end of 2013, to enable these groups to be more involved in the making and planning of various public policies.
The bylaw will also contain regulations on employment rights, requiring the government and private institutions to employ people with disabilities amounting to at least 5 percent of their workforce.
The planned bylaw will also regulate the construction of public facilities, including public transportation and buildings, that are more people-friendly.
The four-story building has no elevators or special ramps for students in wheelchairs, or the clear signs needed to guide students with visual impairments.
But these conditions have not hampered some students with disabilities from enrolling at the institute to pursue higher learning as the institute management has an open policy to accept students with physical disabilities.
Ida Bagus Rai Susila, head of IHDN’s academic department, said that since 2005 the Institute had been accepting students with visual impairments.
“Every year, we accept five students in the teaching and philosophy departments,” Susila said, adding that the institute did not yet provide opportunities for students with other physical disabilities.
Udayana University has not yet followed IHDN’s policy.
“We do not have any facilities for students with visual impairments. The lecturers and professors do not have the capacity or knowledge to teach blind students,” the university’s rector Ketut Suastika lamented.
In the university’s school of medicine, students who suffer from partial blindness or color blindness are not allowed to study. “But students with other physical disabilities, such as children who suffered from polio, may still be able to enroll in the school of medicine,” the rector said.
While the government has established schools and education centers for people with disabilities from elementary school to high school level, students wanting to pursue university courses still find it hard to continue their studies.
A number of social institutions and civil rights activists have been working hard on a proposed bylaw about special education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
It is expected that the bylaw can be ratified by the end of 2013, to enable these groups to be more involved in the making and planning of various public policies.
The bylaw will also contain regulations on employment rights, requiring the government and private institutions to employ people with disabilities amounting to at least 5 percent of their workforce.
The planned bylaw will also regulate the construction of public facilities, including public transportation and buildings, that are more people-friendly.
Source : The Jakarta Post , 26th April 2013
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