Stakeholders consider special needs students in tertiary institutions

Nantongo*(not real name) is a visually impaired student at one of Uganda’s universities represents a margin of students with special needs in universities.

Nantongo was admitted to a business course under government sponsorship, regardless that she was a special needs student, she still had the requisite points. Despite her great performance in A-Level exam in 2021, she is struggling with poor grades at university. She is very active in class and encourages her colleagues to perform well in exams, yet her results have been low for the last two years. 

The reason behind her poor performance is partly because she never completes her work during exams, which is the only performance evaluation method at her university.

She is given the same amount of time as the rest of the students, and out of the three compulsory numbers she must attempt in an exam, she normally completes one number before it is time up. This is because she is slow.

Nantongo will most likely graduate with a pass degree instead of probably a First Class degree had she been given attention as a special needs student.

Assistance through policy?

There are several “Nantongos” in higher education institutions who have not had their handicap taken into consideration.To evaluate success, the fish, the lion, the monkey, and the snail have all been invited to climb a tree. It is not fair.  Uganda has ratified international agreements that support students with special needs, and therefore institutions of higher learning are required to set up policies and procedures to assist these students. 

A total of 519 special needs students sat the Uganda Certificate Education exams in 2022; of them, 154 had low vision, 179 had physical disabilities, 120 had hearing impairments, and 66 had dyslexia. Even though only 14 percent (74) of these did not qualify to join Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), if the situation permitted, they would probably acquire skills elsewhere. 

If the university climate is the same like the one Nantongo is experiencing, what is the chance that all the eligible special needs students will stay in school? How can higher education teaching, learning, and assessment practices help students with unique needs such as Nantongo to complete their studies  with good grades within their capability? Who is supposed to do this?  Is higher education process harshly judging these students on the same scale as able-bodied students, yet there are available policies shelved? 

What  can be done? 

There is a need for the sensitisation of educators in institutions of higher education on the management of special needs students to avoid frustration of special needs students. For example, examination time should be extended by at least one hour for students with special needs. It is abnormal that a lecturer teaches a group of students for a semester and has no idea that he or she has a special needs student in class. Of course, online teaching has made it worse where students do not meet with their teachers physically, but it would be an obligation of the teacher to know his or her students more.

Also, there should be a list from admissions offices that profiles the students with special needs for faculties and departments to note. This is very important because when students register, they indicate their disabilities (or should indicate). This should also be followed up by the deans of students and the students’ leadership bodies.

Beyond teaching and learning, there should be a fund that supports the special needs students in institutions of higher education with items such as hearing aids and magnifiers for them to thrive in their studies. Policymakers have done their part to support the special needs community, but implementation in higher education institutions remains a challenge. It should be an intentional effort by universities and other tertiary institutions to help and support the Nantongos within the education system of Uganda.

Ms Monica Kanyesigye Rullongah is a Public Administration and Management specialist and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Higher Education Management at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.