Students with Disabilities at Two Higher Education Institutions Selected from South Africa: A Social Model of Disability

Mogomme Alpheus Masoga

doi:10.5430/ijhe.v10n6p238

Abstract

Learners with disabilities are faced with unprecedented challenges in their pursuit of integration in the institutionalized higher education system in South Africa. The aim of this paper is to explore the recruitment and integration of students with disabilities (SWDs) at selected rural universities in South Africa in terms of facilities for physically challenged students. Personal conversations and informal discussions and desk and documentary research have collectively informed the present discourse. By utilizing a social model of disability, this study proposes that both institutions need to accelerate the provision of user-friendly facilities to accommodate various categories of SWDs either currently enrolled or those aspiring to study at the institutions. Considering the evaluations and observations explored in this opinion paper, the academic community of both institutions will need to pay attention to the special needs of SWDs because the absence of this attention will negatively impact the outcome of the academic life of learners.

Highlights

Disabilities of various types are found everywhere in the world: vision and hearing impairment, mental health conditions, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, and various physical disabilities (Rugwiji, 2012). Hutcheon and Wolbring (2012) have affirmed that students with disabilities (SWDs) face physical, social, and emotional barriers in their postsecondary education
Considering the evaluations and observations explored in this essay, the academic community at University of Venda (Univen) and University of Limpopo (UL) will need to pay attention to exploring recruitment and integration of SWDs at their institutions in light of adapting facilities for physically challenged students
A social model of disability should be considered in view of the challenges faced by SWDs

Summary

Introduction

Disabilities of various types are found everywhere in the world: vision and hearing impairment, mental health conditions, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, and various physical disabilities (Rugwiji, 2012). Hutcheon and Wolbring (2012) have affirmed that SWDs face physical, social, and emotional barriers in their postsecondary education. Hutcheon and Wolbring (2012) have affirmed that SWDs face physical, social, and emotional barriers in their postsecondary education. In most parts of the world, people with disabilities (PWDs) constitute the underrepresented minorities (Lau, 2003), members of the oppressed group subjugated by “able-bodied” ideologies encoded into large social structures (Schipper, 2006). Some people believe that disability happens due to witchcraft (Fountaine, 1996; Rugwiji, 2012). Such belief systems have unwittingly infiltrated institutions of higher learning as divergent modus operandi (Department of Higher Education and Training [DHET], 2018). One could ask whether all institutions of higher learning in South Africa are aware of the nature of prospective students who apply to study in their universities

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion