KNUST is a Disability Friendly University

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a disability friendly university according to the management of the public tertiary institution.

According to the university, which is situated in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, it has one of the best and conducive environments for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) who enrol to study in the Institution.

KNUST is a Disability Friendly University

According to KNUST, they make sure that students do not discriminate against their colleagues with disabilities.

The University has dedicated two (2) shuttle (Vehicles) solely for persons with disability, so they take them from one point to another, going for lectures, to their hostels so that other students cannot struggle with them in boarding the bus.

“At KNUST we have Disability Policy and fortunately, I am the Secretary to the Implementing Management Committee. I take advantage of that in order that whatever programme the University will organize in relation to disability the Counselling Centre is involved,” the Head of Counselling Department at KNUST, Victoria De-Graft Adgyei disclosed during a dialogue session with public Universities in Ghana held at SunLodge Hotel in Accra recently.

The event was organized by the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD) which witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on disability inclusion with the University of Development (UDS) of which KNUST was also in the final stage of signing.

Other Universities present at the event and are yet to sign the MoU include the University of Ghana (UG) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in the Central Region.

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Madam De-Graft Adyei said KNUST has a Disability Students Association where students with disability are made to join and meet their coordinators for the needed support.

“The Counselling Department work closely with all the units in the University especially the Master-Card Foundation. Last year we opened up to also bring on board persons with disability so that they will be part of the Scholarship. So the centre had training on how they can recruit persons with disability,” she stated.

The KNUST Head of Counselling disclosed that persons with disability do not only have assistance from the Counselling Department but rather all University Staff are mandated to offer them needed help.

Madam De-Graft Adyei noted that every event or programme organised in the Institution has the involvement of students with disability by using the needed publicity channels for all students to know.

The Counselling Psychology stated that the Institution directs all fresher’s to the Counselling Office and introduce them to Counsellors so they can talk to them.

“So when they come, we take advantage of the fresher’s orientation to talk to them more and to even let them know the kinds or the types of disability that there are.

Even on the admission form, we have space where they have to tick whether they have any disability or not. They usually will not tick anything, it’s only when we chance on them or they have issues,” she disclosed.

Madam De-Graft Adyei further disclosed that “immediately students come for the first year we make sure that the presentations we give them especially from the Counselling Centre, we factor in disability issues.”

Source: Isaac Dzidzoamenu/capitalnewsonline.com