Abu Dhabi: To ensure that all students with disabilities have access to education opportunities the same as their fellow students, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs (ZHO) and UAE University (UAEU) in the capital on Wednesday.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, vice-chancellor of UAEU, and Mubarak Al Shamsi, member of the board of directors, who signed the MoU on behalf of Mohammad Fadil Al Hameli, deputy chairman and secretary-general of ZHO.
The MoU aims to integrate more special needs people into education institutions and encourage them to express their potential.
ZHO will conduct awareness workshops and several training sessions for faculty members of UAEU on how to deal with disabled students for around three years.
“The university is now developing an electronic brochure that can be found online to help disabled students with all procedures related to registration. The brochure will also provide special needs students with information about latest methods and technologies to facilitate the learning process within the classroom, introduce them to several community services, and ease their lives during their stay at the university’s residence,” Al Nuaimi said.
Assistive technology at UAEU is one of many examples that offers students with disabilities independence in reading, writing, and performance, which can increase their work rate, help them achieve better results, and assist in reinforcing more positive self-esteem.
The disability support services assistive technology lab is equipped with computers that feature text-to-speech, screen reader, screen enlargement software as well as Braille printers, sensors and adaptive mouse and keyboards.
“The university is keen on providing all services, aids and opportunities to achieve academic excellence and meet the needs of the UAE labour market through developing scientific research,” Al Nuaimi added.
Additionally, UAEU will provide a database for enrolled students with disabilities. The database will be updated regularly. It will provide disabled students with information on suitable and desired majors that match their skills and capabilities. The new database will also facilitate the registration procedure in the beginning of each academic year.
Al Nuaimi stressed the importance of strategic partnerships with national institutions such as as UAEU, which is committed to social responsibility towards all segments of society.
The UAEU had earlier organised several workshops and lectures on how to understand challenges faced by people with disabilities.
“UAEU, as an academic institution, embraces, supports and provides many services for people with special needs. The university has a special education department and a centre for disabled people, both of which provide everything necessary to facilitate the integration of special needs students into society,” Mubarak Al Shamsi said.
He praised the cooperation between ZHO and UAEU in previous programmes including the five-week training programme which trained around 24 special needs people in several fields such as agriculture, milk production and fish farming.
