Tuesday June 12, 2012
Going the distance for the disabled
THERE may be many disabled-friendly facilities in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) but there is still room for improvement, said USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Prof Asma Ismail.She said there was a special committee to look into accessibility for disabled staff and students in the university.
“But there’s room for improvement.
“We’ll try to have more facilities but it takes time and the budget also comes into consideration,” she said.
She was officiating at the Disability Equality Training workshop at USM’s School of Social Sciences recently.
Prof Asma added that the understanding gained from the workshop would certainly give an accurate picture of the needs of physically challenged students and staff in the university.
“It will enable the university to prepare a plan to improve access for the disabled as much as possible,” she said.
“Although this group is a minority in USM, their presence contributes to the success of the university,” she added.
The workshop was initiated by a disabled undergraduate from the School of Social Sciences, Khu Li Fang, 29.
It was aimed at providing awareness on the facilities required for the disabled.
In his presentation, workshop facilitator Peter Tan Hua Choon said that around 10% of the world’s population or 650 million people lived with a disability.
The workshop also discussed topics such as independent living, approaches and processes, as well as drawing up an action plan to resolve problems faced by disabled people.
