Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), have called on the government to go beyond tuition and accommodation relief and provide broader, more practical support that meets their everyday needs.
President of the UEW PWDs Association, Prince Adu Gyamfi, told Xtrememediaonline that the absence of a feeding program poses a daily challenge.
He acknowledged the opportunity given to the PWDs to study in the higher institutions for free, noting that it is a good policy. However, it would have been more effective if the government provided a free feeding policy for them.
“Sometimes it baffles me that they came out with this policy and they didn’t include feeding. When you give the learner the opportunity to come, the feeding aspect too sometimes becomes a challenge. Some of my colleagues sometimes find it difficult when it comes to the food aspect, even though it is a good policy.”
He therefore pleaded with the government to look beyond free tuition and provide food for these PWDs in the higher institutions.
Read also: PWDs in Ghana: Anomah-Kodie Calls Out Gaps in Media Coverage of Persons with Disabilities
A visually impaired student, Abass Jemila, also noted the gap in learning resources and emphasized the need for assistive technologies and inclusive learning tools.
“There are a lot of things that we still need as PWDs to support us to continue with our education. Some of us find it difficult to learn because some of us don’t have learning materials such as laptops and books for us to learn. There are a lot that we still need.”
These PWD students are pleading with the government and stakeholders in the education sector to make the policy more inclusive by providing essential academic resources, livelihood support, and disability-friendly infrastructure.
“If the government could have gotten us a favor to favor us with some of those things so that we can impact our knowledge. We need learning materials so that we can further our education,” Jemila told Xtrememediaonline.
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Under the free tertiary education policy for PWDs, introduced during the administration of President John Dramani Mahama and maintained by successive governments, tuition and accommodation fees are waived to promote educational equity.
While this initiative has improved access to higher education for students with disabilities, many say it only scratches the surface of what they truly need to thrive.
