#kerajaangagal132 – Noraini Ahmad, Higher Education Minister should put an immediate stop to the exclusion and discrimination against students with disabilities from tertiary education

The Higher Education Minister, Noraini Ahmad should put an immediate stop to the exclusion and discrimination against students with disabilities from tertiary education.

It is most shocking that a student with 9As was denied the chance to pursue her tertiary education at a local public university due to her physical disability.

The student group Concerned UM Indian Graduates (Cumig) has submitted a letter to the Higher Education Minister on a 2019 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidate with 9As who used a wheelchair who was excluded and discriminated against in a local public university.

She was shortlisted for UKM’s Asasi Pintar Pre-University Programme (APP) and attended an interview as well as completed all the documents required, including a video submission.

However, during the UPU Online Update Phase, her previous application was blank and she was eligible to only choose from two diploma programmes and 20 community college certifications.

There are 20 public universities, 36 polytechnics and four public skills training institutions (in Malaysia), yet she was only given the opportunity to apply for two diploma programmes and to community colleges because of her physical disability.

She was told by an officer that she was unable to pick other university programmes, even though she is qualified, because they did not have the facilities to cater to disabled candidates.

UPU Online had said that the applicant was only able to apply for disabled-friendly programmes that had been predetermined by the university, based on the type of disability faced by the applicant.

This is not an isolated case as other disabled applicants also face similar problems when applying through UPU Online.

I agree with the former Education Minister, Dr. Mazlee Malik that this is a grave injustice and that students with disabilities deserve to have the same opportunities as other university candidates to pursue their tertiary education, instead of having their access blocked.

The Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad should take immediate action to rectify such injustices to students with disabilities as Malaysia had signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, which includes the right for people with disabilities to receive an education.