ASSIUT—New service centers for students with disabilities at five of Egypt’s public universities could make academic life much easier for students like Mustafa Ali, a second-year student at Assiut University’s Faculty of Specific Education.
For Ali, who is deaf, understanding classroom lectures is a struggle. The university does not provide sign language interpreters for all lectures, making his study quite difficult.
“There are only two sign interpreters, who are working hard. But most of the lectures are done without (sign) translation,” he said. “This increases our studying burden.”
Ali and many other students with disabilities hope their academic conditions will improve after the opening of new centers to support people with special needs at Assiut and four other Egyptian public universities: Ain Shams, Alexandria, Cairo, and Mansoura Universities.
Setting up the new service centers comes as a first stage within a project to facilitate equal access to higher education for students with disabilities.
The project includes equipping examination labs for students with disabilities and places for printing books in Braille, as well as lecture halls equipped with computers for the blind.