Progress Report 1997
Re: Disability Unit, UCT and National Disability Work

Contents:


Introduction
Realities
Disability Education
Physical Planning
Disability Research
UCT Libraries
Computer Equipment
General Equipment
Outreach and Regional Cooperation
Staffing
Fund Raising

Kathryn Jagoe PhD D (honoris causa)
Director

November 1997



1.Introduction

The DU at UCT has been in existence for ten years. Due to national priorities (to redress the legacies of Apartheid) and financial constraints it has of necessity been a small Unit. Nevertheless it has been an effective catalyst of change (locally and nationally) : where once the exclusion of disabled people from higher education was an unchallenged norm, now the process of redress is being effected at every level. It is an appropriate time to review our past achievements and future directions.

Vision

It has always been the Disability Unit's vision for UCT to become an institution of higher education in which people with disabilities and chronic illnesses can study and work without barriers to their equal and full participation.

Background

Historically people with disabilities and chronic illnesses have either been overtly discriminated against, been treated as 'charity cases' and provided for outside of the mainstream or, simply not planned for in the organisation and structuring of society. This is no less true in education.

The last 15 years have seen a world-wide move towards trying to equalise the opportunities of people with different disabilities. A few countries (e.g. USA and Australia) have taken the lead and have implemented legislation to enforce this change. Because of South Africa's recent history of gross discrimination on the grounds of race and colour, resources have, of necessity, firstly been channelled into the reconstruction of a more equitable society for the majority of people. South Africa is beginning to include people with disabilities and chronic illnesses into this process.

In higher education institutions, effective exclusion and discrimination has often resulted from the way we plan and build our campus, our teaching and examination formats, our communication and our provision of facilities and services. In the past ten years the Director of the DU at UCT (and previously at University of Witwatersrand) has worked towards UCT's restructuring to enable Equity. This work has been based on the following criteria:

• Goal: To ensure that students and staff with disabilities and chronic illnesses are fully integrated into the mainstream of our University.
  
  
• Objective: To ensure that the different sectors of the University, such as Libraries, Information Technology Services, the Planning Unit, Faculties and Departments, Human Resources and Support Services etc., each take on the responsibility necessary to enable such Equity.
  
  
• Role: To develop an awareness and, knowledge of, how barriers which prevent integration can be eliminated in different sectors of the University. This is a continual and, often, slow process. It involves an intricate knowledge of the University and of different disabilities, as well as how each impacts on the other. While most of the responsibility for eliminating barriers should fall within each sector of the University, the DU (within the Equal Opportunities Office) has a coordinating and advisory role in achieving such Equity.

2. Realities

The process of redress has had to take the following realities into account:

2.1 The DU has no control over the numbers of students or staff with disabilities or chronic illnesses who are accepted into different faculties in the University. Nor can those who become disabled during their employment or enrolment be anticipated.

2.2 As we have painfully learned from the experience of HIV/AIDS, forcing people with disabilities or chronic illnesses to answer questions about their condition is both a breach of privacy and, further, the information gathered is often inaccurate, in terms of planning.

2.3 It must be remembered that the role of the DU is to eliminate the many barriers that handicap individual participation; the DU does not deliberately set out to fulfil any quota. The implications of this policy are:

• only staff or students who are either self-reported, or referred, are dealt with by the DU;
  
• situations that create barriers are, in some cases, very specific to UCT's history, geographical setting and architecture, and
  
• there are a number of students and staff with disabilities who never directly need the DU's intervention and, therefore, are never accounted for in DU records.

2.4 A figure of ten percent is held by some as the proportion of the population who are disabled at any one time. However, both the accuracy and relevance of this are highly debatable. The specific experience at UCT is that numbers of individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses who present as being 'handicapped by barriers' would not even necessarily fit into recognised disability categories within that 'identified' ten percent. At UCT, therefore, we assume that the DU is catering for a much broader and more varied sector of the population than any specific quota would cater for. At the same time there are people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, at UCT, who are not necessarily 'handicapped by barriers' and who therefore, never identify themselves as in need of intervention. Furthermore, as UCT's changes include the active elimination of barriers and, as a matter of course, catering for inclusivity, so will people with disabilities and chronic illnesses eventually become, quite rightfully, simply part of a diverse population at an increasing rate. In other words they will become attracted by the accessible facilities available at the University, thereby swelling the enrolment numbers of people with disabilities.

3. Disability Education

3.1 Academic: Disability Studies

Disability Studies, now an internationally recognised academic discipline, is regarded as an important endeavour of the DU. While the development and coordination of Disability Studies across Faculties, such as Health Science, Social Science and Building Science, has had to take a back seat to Equity, it is nonetheless part of the DU's function.

3.1.1 Undergraduate students: While teaching and guidance on undergraduate research has always been one of the DU's responsibilities, increasing pressure has necessitated greater concentration on achieving Disability Equity. Some undergraduate teaching responsibilities have therefore had to be delegated to a colleague in the community.

3.1.2 Postgraduate students: Likewise, postgraduate supervision carried out by the Director has of necessity been limited to small numbers of students. However, with the development of undergraduate teaching in Disability Studies, there will be further pressure to be available at this level of research and teaching.

3.2 General awareness

3.2.1 One-on-one: Each enquiry to the DU involves person-to-person education. For example a query about a specific student might involve individually educating a wide range of people, from course coordinators, lecturers, HOD's, Faculty Officers, Deans and fellow students.

3.2.2 Small groups: The staff of the DU have been involved with small group presentations to both key staff and students. This needs further development. This is especially so if one of the objectives is to develop a sensitivity amongst general staff to people with disabilities, coupled to the development of skills necessary to enable the mainstreaming of disabled people at UCT.

3.2.3 Education campaigns: There is much scope, and need, to develop far more campus-wide disability awareness. There is already a great deal of experience which can usefully be drawn from; for example in the disability field, as well as fields such as HIV/AIDS and Sexual Harassment.

4. Physical Planning

The DU works with the University's Building and Services section in order that the barriers found in the physical environment are systematically eliminated. The following areas are being addressed:

• Academic and administration buildings
  
• University Libraries
  
• Traffic and Special parking
  
• Transport Services: Shuttle Services *
  
• Security design *
  
• Fire control measures *
  
• upgrading of sound systems in lecture theatres *
  
  *Note: It is important to consider the fact that whenever the route of the Shuttle Service is changed, it has implications for special parking, barrier free access into and within buildings, handrails and the accessible routes between buildings.

The fact that UCT is situated on a mountain-side, creates major problems for access by wheelchair users to the upper (academic) campus. Neither the public transport nor local UCT Shuttle service are accessible to wheelchair users. To solve this problem will require extraordinarily expensive solutions.

* Note: While security and fire control measures are of paramount importance, they require implementation in such a way as not to introduce obstacles to the movement of legitimate disabled users. This clash in requirements is a world-wide problem.

* Note: People with partial hearing are totally reliant on good sound to maximise their limited hearing. Many of our lecture theatres have very poor acoustics, often exacerbated by noisy air conditioning systems. The upgrading of certain existing sound systems is needed, as well as the provision, in some cases, of specialised systems for use of people with partial hearing.

There are still many other areas of Physical Planning needing attention such as:

• various sports facilities
  
• various residences

5. Disability Research

There are numerous areas of research which we keep abreast of. This involves keeping up with current literature and also linking in with other researchers and research units both nationally and internationally.

5.1 General Research: An enormous amount of background research is required to understand and to keep up with developments about different disabilities and chronic illnesses. This is routinely undertaken when the DU deals with specific disabilities for the first time.

5.2 Specific Research: We keep up to date specifically with work aimed at the inclusion of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses :

• in general society;
  
• in education, particularly tertiary institutions;
  
• through legislation
  
• in barrier-free design
  
• within academic endeavours: Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Building Science and
• the Performing and Visual Arts, etc.
  
• as a gender issue
  
• within relationships; sexuality, etc.
  
• within research into pain mechanisms
  
• in medical and rehabilitation research and practise

Over the years a selection of research and writing about disability and chronic illness has been housed in the DU's own library. This material is available to the UCT community and, to some degree, also to other institutions. The development and maintenance of this library has obvious human resource and financial demands.

6. UCT Libraries

Access to print and electronic material is central to all academic endeavour and becomes increasingly so with the current greater emphasis at UCT on 'self-study'. It is therefore vital to eliminate the barriers to this access, whether physically getting to, and within, library buildings, to library shelves, to catalogued information, or to services within the libraries, such as photocopying machines. This strategy is required for both students and staff who have disabilities ranging from those that affect sight, mobility, hearing, learning, and perceptual abilities and dexterity.

With the advent of anti-discriminatory legislation on disabilities and chronic illnesses in some advanced countries (notably the USA and Australia), there is a growing body of material and experience on making libraries accessible. However, it is somewhat dispersed and, as it crosses many areas and specialities, it has not readily fallen into the accepted brief of either our library staff or our architectural planners (nor even disability specialists). All this available knowledge needs to be embraced both in the planning of UCT's new library and of the Cape Library Co-operative (CALICO).

7. Computer Equipment

It is now argued that computer technology is an essential aspect of our general students' education. It has also been widely recognised that, in the case of many disabilities, computer technology is vital for access to the mainstream. Fortunately, with the rapid advances in mainstream technology, the previous chasm between the quality, speed, power, and cost of the two (general computer technology and disability-access technology) is narrowing. However, for the foreseeable future, there will be a demand to provide additional computer (and other) technology to enable access for people with various disabilities - primarily sight, speech and upper-limb - to education.

7.1 Examinations

For students with sight and upper-limb disabilities, using computers, together with the relevant 'accessible' hard- and software, is as vital as providing facilities and venues for Extra Time students. At present, special facilities outside of extra time are provided in consultation with Departments, in an ad hoc (and most unsatisfactory), manner.
There is no authorised venue equipped with the appropriate computer technology and authorised invigilation. Nor are there appropriate procedures through which these examinations can be set up, as in the Extra Time procedure. This needs urgent redress.

7.2 Computer Laboratories

In contrast to the DU's philosophy, some Universities have set up specialised computer laboratories for blind students. The DU believes, for a myriad reasons (not least of which is the 'mainstreaming ethic' and security), that it is preferable to make mainstream laboratories accessible to students with sight (at present) and upper-limb (in future) disabilities: the former through voice synthesisers, the latter through voice recognition.

The managers of such facilities must play a key role in creating access and teaching computer skills to students with disabilities. To do this they need to keep up to date with disability-access technology.

7.3 Library Computer Technology

University Libraries provide access to the very core of printed material for students and staff. However, at present, this material, as well as the cataloguing technology, is largely inaccessible to students who are 'print handicapped'.

The requirements mentioned above in relation to computer laboratories are also true for UCT libraries generally and, should also be included in the planning and development of the regional library co-operative, CALICO, as well as in the appropriate access to Short Loans and to Journals.

7.4 Email Arcades and Student Learning Centres

UCT is in the process of planning and developing email arcades and student learning centres. Coordination with the DU is needed to ensure access to students with sight, mobility and upper-limb disabilities to such facilities

7.5 Computer literacy programmes

One of UCT's goals states that our students will be computer literate by the time they graduate. In this context it is important that the planning and teaching of computer literacy must cater for:

• technologies that are accessible to students with upper-limb and sight disabilities;
  
• venues that are accessible to students with mobility disabilities, and
  
• communication formats that are accessible to hearing disabled students.

The guidance on how to achieve access to these and other programmes is part of the DU's responsibility.

7.6 Reading Programme Office

In order to enable the translation of printed material into an electronic medium, Braille, as well as enlarged formats for sight-disabled students, the Reading Programme office must be equipped with the appropriate technologies. We have slowly built up the basic technologies, but have a long way to go to replace old equipment and update new technologies.

8. General Equipment

Staff and students with a variety of disabilities need equipment to enable access to the mainstream. Presently the greatest demand for such equipment (other than that dealt with in the either sections on Physical Planning or Computer Equipment) is from blind students. Without such equipment many blind students cannot even achieve the basic functions of note taking during lectures and while studying.

9. Outreach and Regional Cooperation

The DU currently works with a number of outside disability organisations working in the field of welfare, services and self-help. However, there is a need to expand this outreach, particularly to special and mainstream schools.

The DU, at UCT, is ahead of other tertiary institutions in the region in the provision of Disability Equity. However, it is important to keep abreast of, and to link with others working both regionally and nationally. With limited resources the DU has not been able to do more than simply to respond, in an ad-hoc manner, to queries and requests for advice from other higher educational institutions in South Africa. Greater coordination is needed.

10. Staffing

10.1 DU Central Office

The UCT General Operating Budget (GOB) currently funds the post of the Director. The two secretarial posts (senior secretary and secretary) have, over the past ten years, been annual contracts, funded by the DU.

There have been enormous stresses and limits to having only one senior post i.e. that of the Director. A Deputy to this post is way overdue. Furthermore, the post of the senior secretary has had to be established with benefits. Planning should be implemented to budget for the establishment of the secretarial post in 1999.

10.2 Blind Student Reading Programme

The DU currently funds a part-time post to coordinate the Reading Programme (RP). A full-time coordinator and part-time assistant are essential because of escalating demands.
Under the present conditions the Reading Programme is not coping with the coordination of the needs of blind students and certainly cannot cater for one more blind student without a change in the staffing profile. Despite already being over stretched in 1997 we have had applications from at least four more blind students and from three more partially sighted students for 1998.

10.3 Services for students with hearing disabilities

Over the years the only applications from students with hearing disabilities have been from those who communicate totally in an oral medium. We have worked to provide Equity for these students in a range of Faculties such as Health Sciences (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and MBChB), Science, Social Science and Arts. Unlike Wits, we have not yet had an application from a student (or staff member) who needs the assistance of a sign language interpreter. We have no doubt that this will occur in the future, and possibly with little warning.

11.Fund-raising

The DU has recognised that Equity has been a small portion of the overall redress that is required in South Africa and also, recognises the many demands on UCT's resources. The Director has therefore always raised funds from the private sector to run the DU.

In years to come we will see:

a greater awareness of the need for equity from within the University;
a move towards disability legislation in South Africa, and
a greater demand for Equity from individuals with disabilities.

Every aspect of our society, and of higher education, is increasingly going to be called upon to create Equity for people with disabilities. The only way we can achieve this is in partnership between the University and donors; and with the appropriate staffing to coordinate this process, coupled to appropriate technological and structural changes.



Kathryn Jagoe, PhD (honoris causa)
Director
email: jagoe@socsci.uct.ac.za

Date 08/12/97