University spaces full of barriers for students with disabilities

*The text and the story were prepared within the project "Listen!", supported by WB Media for Change

Young people with disabilities face many barriers to access academic spaces in public universities. Some of them turn to private colleges only because some of them have infrastructure that allows them to move to the halls and amphitheatres. Education experts say that despite all the promotion of inclusiveness, in practice little is done for this category of students.

His physical condition did not stop Elmi Fazli from wanting to study at the University of Pristina. However, the infrastructure in the faculties became a barrier.

Despite his great desire to study at the largest public university, he was forced to turn to a private institution whose infrastructure allows access to wheelchairs, to which young people like Elmiu are bound.

"You saw it earlier, even the parking lots for disabled people are occupied. "Also, the access to the faculty, even though it exists in most cases, does not meet the conditions and standards necessary for people with disabilities, and, in other words, they are only there to appear," he said. 

Elmiu enumerates the challenges that accompany people with disabilities and says that those who cannot cope with them are locked at home, do not go to school or get a job.

"Access is missing from the moment they leave the house. So there is no access to urban traffic, to the bus, there is no access to sidewalks, there is no access to the road, so education for a person with disabilities is a very, very, very difficult mission", said this student.

Public institutions constantly promote inclusiveness in education. But statements are rarely followed by action.

The education expert, Rinor Qehaja, says that public institutions must change their approach.

"So there is a spirit of support from a legal point of view, but there is a lack of a spirit of support from an operational and practical point of view where these students benefit from these lectures", said Qehaja.

In addition to the lack of infrastructure, the faculties do not offer appropriate teaching and lecture methodologies.

This presents a problem especially for blind or visually impaired students, says Bajramshahe Jetullahu, who is the director of the blind women's community of Kosovo. 

"When the Braille alphabet does not exist, it is not, the books are not written in the Braille alphabet and we don't even have audio-books, then you can assess for yourself how many institutions are responsible for this category", said Jetullahu.

At the University of Pristina, they did not tell about the measures that can be taken to ensure access to the academic facilities for persons with disabilities.

Vice-Rector Rozafa Basha said that in order to support this category, UP inaugurated the Center for Students with Special Needs in April of this year, as well as supporting them in other ways.

"The University of Pristina has also offered scholarships for students with special needs, with the aim of providing financial support for students, enabling them equal access to education and academic achievements", said vice-rector Basha.

In addition to public universities, institutions such as the National Library also lack infrastructure for people with disabilities. Access to the offices, the main amphitheater and reading rooms became possible only in June of this year, through a project carried out with "Handikos".