As a way of encouraging the integration of disabled people into institutions of higher education, the Lithuanian Forum for the Disabled and ISM University of Management and Economics have started implementing a joint initiative to boost the study possibilities for disabled people.
Based upon data provided by the Lithuanian National Union of Students, there were 1,026 students with special needs studying in Lithuanian institutions of higher education in 2010. Although this number is increasing each year, it could grow faster, Ginta Žemaitaitytė, vice-president of the Lithuanian Union of Persons with Disabilities, noted. “Research carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science has demonstrated that the number of young people with disabilities attending institutions of higher education is 15 times less than the number of such students at general education schools. Since people with disabilities have better opportunities to pursue higher education in foreign countries, Lithuanian students with disabilities often choose institutions of higher education there rather than in our country. It is essential for Lithuanian universities to improve the education conditions for disabled people, from the physical environment of studies to changes in the study process itself”, Ms Žemaitaitytė points out.
The initiative of the Lithuanian Forum for the Disabled and ISM will help the University to become more attractive to students with disabilities not just with specially adjusted physical environments, as has been so far, but also by the delivery of information, process of studies, teaching material, and assistance provided by teachers and administrative staff.
There will be a special training course arranged for the academic and administrative staff of the University and its Students’ Representation in February. The training course will include an analysis of attitudes towards people with disabilities, basic principles of communication with disabled people, and better ways for their integration into the life of the University.
“Currently, there are two students with mobility disabilities studying at ISM and a further 100 students are taking part in a special remote studies project. It is difficult to say whether we have students with other disabilities, for instance, with hearing disability, because people try to hide less obvious disabilities. Our aim is to develop the capabilities of our academic community to be able to recognise, accept, and properly behave with people who have various disabilities and to encourage such students not to conceal their special needs, so that quality of their studies is as high as possible”, Prof Viltė Auruškevičienė, dean of ISM Studies, says. The dean believes that the more active involvement of students with disabilities in University life will change the attitude of the academic community and its business partners and will contribute to the development of greater tolerance.
According to the vice-president of Lithuanian Union of Persons with Disabilities, studies facilitate the integration of students with disabilities into society and provide better conditions for participating in various activities, achieving a higher social position, and developing public activity. It is not uncommon that when people with disabilities have successfully finished their studies, they no longer can imagine their lives without a job.
She points out that there is currently a lack of information regarding study opportunities for disabled people in Lithuania. Also, no general system has been created for the registration of disabled people in institutions of higher education, and teaching material is not adapted to students with special needs.
Cooperation between the Lithuanian Forum for the Disabled and ISM is being carried out according to the following United Nations Development Programme project: “Gateway: Social and Environmental Business Innovations”. The project is being financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget.
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