Towards a Universal Design approach for Public Schools design. “The case study of Al-Orouba Schools Complex in Aswan City”

Abstract

In recent years, the Egyptian state has paid special attention to education and establish schools and the direction of special-needs integration into schools and society, as 2018was declared as the year of disabled persons, based on that; a law of the rights of disabled persons was enacted in early 2018, thereby preparing the educational facilities to receive all users and provide them various services. And given the obstacles and problems the users of public schools suffer from, it is important to integrate all different groups in schools to make the school community accept all kinds of disabilities such as (physical, psychological, and mental) and to strengthen self-concept in addition to human, legal , educational, and economical considerations. Welfare and attention should also be provided so they can spend educational and entertaining time without depending on others or the need of a private companion so that they can’t feel different from other students and therefor moving easily and freely in complete independence without any physical obstacles in the internal environment of school. And that’s what the universal design seeks throughout creating universally designed products that can be accessed by persons who have a wide range of capacities, disabilities and other characteristics, and the outreach to necessary information effectively regardless the circumstances surrounding or the sensory capacities of the user. Moreover, make the products more usable for all users, not only the disabled persons.