No college in Rawalpindi exclusively for the disabled
Rawalpindi: Lack of special academic institutions have forced many disabled students to get admission in regular colleges for HSSC and BA studies where they face numerous difficulties.
According to a survey, many blind students are studying in government colleges of Rawalpindi. There are many academic institutions for handicapped children at school level, but students are left with no option but to study in regular colleges after passing the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination.
Disabled students revealed that they face a lot of problems in regular colleges. According to them, they are expected to perform like normal students. "Moreover, we are not offered the facility of transport," they said.
"It is a difficult task for me to come to the college and go back home. I end up relying on my family members to provide me with the pick and drop service," said Sohail Shabbir, a blind fourth year student.
Special students also face difficulties in jotting down daily lectures. Some take the pain of audio recording lectures of their teachers in the classroom and later listen to them repeatedly to memorise them. "We have to daily record lectures, as there is no material available in audio form that we can get from the college administration," said Abdul Waheed, another student.
At the time of examination, these special students have to arrange for an interpreter-writer who writes answers as dictated by them.
Disabled students interviewed urged the government to set up special academic institutions for them. They asked the concerned authorities to implement the allocated quota for the disabled in jobs in letter and spirit. "The quota is often not implemented by the government despite several tall claims by the concerned authorities," they claimed.
When contacted DEO (Colleges) Rawalpindi Ulfat Mehmood Janjua said, "It is not possible for the government to set up separate institutions for special students as they are only a few in number. They have to study in regular colleges with normal students." The News
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