Funding boost to benefit disabled at UCT

THE Disability Service at UCT has been able to provide further support to students with disabilities thanks to an R11 million donation from the FirstRand Foundation (Tshikululu Social Investments) earlier this year.

The fund has given UCT the ability to purchase resources for students with disabilities, including a carer for a blind masters student and a nine-seater wheelchair-adapted bus.

The fund has also sponsored Braille readers, South African sign language interpreters and scribes for students who are unable to physically write their exams.

UCT has been able to make use of key developments in technology due to the assistance of the fund, including the Dragon Naturally Speaking dictation software to help a student who experienced handwriting difficulties, and a Transformer HD magnifier to help a visually impaired engineering student complete technical drawings.

Jamie Adams, a psychology honours student who lost her right leg in a motorbike accident in 2013, was provided with a bursary and has been able to write her exams in the disability centre, which is more accessible than the university’s standard exam venues.

Adams has excelled academically and has been admitted to the Golden Key International Honour Society, which recognises students who are in the top 15% of their course.

UCT’s deputy vice-chancellor of transformation, Professor Loretta Feris, said addressing disability was central to the transformation mandate of the university.

“Disability is often the forgotten part of transformation in our society, but this should change. Many students with disabilities grapple with layers of disadvantage.

“If we want to ensure the success of all students, we need to ensure the equity of success of students with disabilities,” she said.

UCT disability services manager Edwina Ghall said she hoped the fund would make the university a more inclusive environment for students with disabilities. |