UDSM keen on special needs students
THE University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has launched Disability Policy and Special Educational Needs to enable all university students with special needs to receive appropriate services.
Launching the policy on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam, the Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Technology Omary Kipanga said the government is committed to continue prioritising the rights to education for girls and people with special needs.
“The government used the Covid – 19 relief and development funds to improve learning condition and make sure that all students with special needs can smoothly continue with their studies.
The government is very keen on improving the education standard for students with special needs,” he said, adding that in this financial year, it has allocated 700m/- to publish large print text books and braille for blind and visually impaired students. It has also allocated 700m/- to buy assistive technical devices and other equipment for the same, said Mr Kipanga.
The deputy minister further said that the government has modified some of the systems of its institutions to provide equal opportunities to all, including people with special needs.
“For example, the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) has improved the application forms by adding a feature to identify applicants with special needs. This has helped the identification of these students and put them in the appropriate colleges.
He said through the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB), the government prioritises providing loans to students with special needs to eliminate any obstacles that would make them unable to pursue their studies.
He said that through the UDSM Centre for Disability Services, the university is implementing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda (SDGs) with its slogan ‘Leave no one behind’ (LNOB)
Mr Kipanga advised other universities in the country to imitate UDSM and prepare policies which will guide them in providing equal and friendly education to people with special needs.
Welcoming the deputy minister to launch the policy and a two-day debate workshop of the School of Education (SoED) in commemoration of 44 years of providing education to students with special needs, UDSM Vice-Chancellor, Prof William Anangisye said UDSM is determined to improve the centre so that it can provide education equally.
“The provision of education equally and for all students has been part of the implementation of the Vision of the University of Dar es Salaam 2061 as well as the Development Vision of Tanzania 2025,” he said.
Prof Anangisye said in the academic year 2020/21, the number of special needs taking various programmes stood at 48. They included 24 male and 24 female students.
He said that the number increased from 33 in 2017/18, creating much needed awareness to the public that it was possible for students with special needs to reach the level of higher education like others.
On his part, the HESLB Executive Director, Abdul Badru said that the board used the equality and justice system since they are focusing on special groups. He said those who are technically proven to have disabilities are given priority.
He said that during the selection and allocation of funds, those with special needs are given first priority and also the amount allocated to them is much bigger to meet their needs for the entire period of their studies.
According to statistics for 2020/21, all 172 students with disabilities who applied for loans were granted and in 2021/22 the number stood at 103.
“For this year, we are still working on the applications and certainly they will all be assigned. For us this is to identify the special needs in the sense of the policy of justice and equality,” he said.
