No facilities for disabled students in educational institutes

Islamabad: Large numbers of special students who are studying at different universities in the federal capital are facing many issues with moving around campuses as there are no inclines in institutions to facilitate these students.

Almost all the universities in the capital don’t have special washroom or ramps for the wheel chairs or other facilities for these special students.

The state minister for federal education and professional training wrote a letter to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) asking that these facilities must be provided to students along with the special needs and that it is the responsibility of an educated society to help the individuals with physical disabilities.

The letter also covers “As higher Education Commission deals with all government sector universities, it is being planned that in order to address the requirement of special people, a policy for facilitation of special people must be prepared and shared with all the universities and the recurrent grant formula should also be involved in this criteria. A weightage should be given to those institutes which obey the policy whereas those universities which deliver the best facilities must be recognised by awarding grants upon them.”

Though, commenting on the minister’s letter, a representative of commission said that the education minister was right in pointing out the issue and that there should be “complete enactment of directive and policies”, he said, adding that the representatives in this country just make statements and lose attentiveness in projects that they declare.

HEC’s official Dr Mazhar Saeed, who deals along with construction projects, said that the commission will try its best to meet with the requirements of disabled students.

He moreover said that the present universities were constructed decades ago and that’s why they don’t have facilities for disabled students and that all institutes were now commanded to facilitate disabled students as much as they can, including the fitting of ramps.

“We have austere strategies for the construction of new blocks according to which no buildings can be made without deliberating the requirements of special students.” he added.