“There are still too many barriers for students with disabilities. If the community does not join hands to help them, their chances of mastering themselves and gaining knowledge will be many times harder” – this was the concern of Dr. Dang Huynh Mai – former Deputy Minister of Education and Training – at the workshop “Increasing access to education for students with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City” recently held by the Disability Research and Capacity Development Center (DRD).
Stories full of tears
Speaking through an interpreter about her search for a chance to study, Le Minh Tu, a first-year psychology student at Van Hien University, said that after finishing high school she applied to a college near her home. They turned her down because she is deaf.
Her father then took her to Viet My College, hoping it would be more open. But once again harsh circumstances blocked her wish to study when the college called her father to say: your child cannot study here because she is deaf.
She was desperate and heartbroken, but luckily Van Hien University accepted her as soon as it heard that a student who had been an excellent pupil for many years had been rejected by so many schools.
“Van Hien University not only accepted me but also gave me a scholarship and an interpreter. I have been studying for just over two months. The university programme is very hard, but I will try my best to finish it,” Minh Tu said.
More openness and support are needed
This was the view of most teachers and school managers when talking about the inclusion and learning of students with disabilities. According to the delegates, if schools do not support them and give them opportunities, it will be very hard for students with disabilities to achieve their life’s dream: to find a suitable job and use their knowledge to support themselves instead of becoming a burden on society.
Sharing her experience, Ms. Dang Huynh Mai, former Deputy Minister of Education and Training, said that what the community and society need to change is their awareness of opportunities for students with disabilities, not simply to make things easier for them.
Mr. Hoang Truong Giang, Deputy Head of Primary Education at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, also agreed that more support policies are needed to remove obstacles for pupils and students with disabilities, because in his view many current regulations are still not suitable for people with disabilities.
Even the procedure for issuing disability certificates is inconsistent. “In the past, a certificate from the hospital was enough, but now a certificate from the ward or commune is also required. These offices often avoid responsibility because they lack staff to certify. This unintentionally adds another barrier to supporting people with disabilities,” Mr. Giang said.
Besides these direct issues in helping pupils and students with disabilities join mainstream learning, many teachers and school managers also raised the many difficulties students face in pursuing their studies: assistive equipment for people with disabilities is too expensive, and many schools have no sign language interpreters for deaf students. Without support from the community and change within universities and colleges themselves, it is very hard for students with disabilities to keep studying.
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