Disabled students at Univen say the visit by the Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, gives them hope for the future.

Mkhize visited the university on Thursday and inspected facilities available for disabled students. She also called on the university to make sure it increases its intake of disabled students, so that they will be better prepared for the job market.

Mkhize said her department had allocated R60-million to the university for bursary programmes for disabled students and a further R21-million had been set aside for the National Skills Fund for 300 disabled first year students. “The voice of the disabled is critical for their dignity and they must be made to feel at home in the New South Africa,” she said.

She added that the university had a responsibility to encourage students to access bursaries to acquire skills. She said because of the history of the country, the government had put disability at the top of its agenda. According to her, her department found it surprising that while disability units at universities were under resourced, only 28% of grants allocated to disabled was utilised.

Univen´s vice-chancellor, Prof Peter Mbati, welcomed the government’s plans to improve the lot of disabled people. He said disabled students faced challenges, especially when they went to the restaurant. “The road to the shopping centre outside campus is also small and not friendly to someone using crutches,” Mbati said.