Group says: Some schools not PWD-friendly

CEBU, Philippines - A non-profit organization has raised concern that a number of colleges and universities in Cebu still lack proper equipment and facilities for Persons with Disabilities.

“We know that there are students with disability who are in college but the professors and the normal students do not know how to deal and interact with them and school buildings are not accessible for these students,” said lawyer Cathy Alvarez-del Rosario of the Human Rights Unlimited Incorporated.

Yesterday, the organization, together with the Ateneo Human Rights Center and with the funding support from the American Bar Association and the Australian AID, conducted a whole day forum entitled, “A Conference on Access to Higher Learning for Students with Disability: Prospects and Challenges for Inclusive Education.”

The forum aimed to attain inclusive education in schools which includes proper awareness for PWDs and for the institutions to provide appropriate equipments for PWD students.

Inclusive education was defined as means for students with and without disabilities to learn together inside one class. It was disclosed in the forum that the concept on inclusive education was based on the ideology that every child and family, disabled or not, should be valued equally and deserves the same opportunities and experiences.

Students, both with and without disability, participated in the forum, as well as teaching and non-teaching staff from different schools and universities and few parents having children with disabilities.

A former student with hearing impairment shared during the forum her difficulties as she entered college in a regular school.

“As much as I wanted to join a regular class, still I don’t learn because the school doesn’t have sign language interpreters to make me understand the discussions,” she expressed.

She then opted to transfer to a deaf school where she graduated college. Now, she is already a volunteer in a Special Education  school in Bulacao.

Grace Bacalso, chair of the Political Science department of the University of San Carlos, said that for the teachers to be able to give the needs to students with disability, they must be given proper training to gain inputs on how to deal with PWDs.

“It should be in the culture of the school to be accommodating and always ready for PWDs,” Bacalso said.

Further, Odette Jereza, vice-president for External Affairs of the University of Southern Philippines-Foundation, expressed dismay on the Commission on Higher Education, which according to her, doesn’t have an advocacy towards the needs of the PWDs in colleges.

“Sige’g accreditation, sige’g panaway ang CHED sa mga schools, yet wala sila’y tabang nahatag,” Jereza said, adding that the cause of the lack of proper equipments in their school for the PWDs is the lack of financial support from the government and other concerned agencies.

Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the Court of Appeals stressed during the forum the laws and policies that protect PWDs.

“There must be social justice wherein those who are less in life must have more in law,” Ingles said.

After the event, the organizers said that they will further act on the concerns raised during the forum.

“We want to dialog with CHED and we will also raise this to the Cebu City government if there is something that they can do to make things easier for PWDs in colleges and universities,” Del Rosario said. —/ATO (FREEMAN)