The An-Najah National University Inclusion Project
Analysis and Report
Magda Gay
KIDS, March - May 2014
An-Najah National University promotes the acquisition of
modern knowledge in all academic fields whilst remaining
committed to the transmission and preservation of
Palestinian history, heritage and culture.
In 2014 there are about 20,000 students studying at
An-Najah National University.
KIDS is an English national charity working with disabled
children, young people and their families supporting them
to be included in services and wider society.
KIDS National Development Department (NDD) has been
involved for many years in the support and development of
inclusive services for disabled children and young people
and has found that the road to inclusion should involve a
continuous cyclic process of delivery, monitoring,
evaluation and change.
The university is already moving along this road and KIDS welcomed the opportunity to
work with them on this exciting project.
The British Council has been working in the Palestinian
Territories for more than 50 years connecting people and
building partnerships.
The aim is to assist personal and institutional learning in
both the Palestinian territories and the UK.
British Council support for the arts, education, human
rights and governance aims to provide opportunities for
cultural dialogue and mutual understanding.
The Office of International Development and External Affairs (IDEA) promotes,
coordinates, and maintains ties between An-Najah National University and international
institutions.
In addition, it facilitates the visits of foreign guests and delegations for the benefit of
bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
KIDS, 7-9 Elliott’s Place, London N1 8HX
KIDS is a Registered Charity No: 275936
ndd@kids.org.uk
www.kids.org.uk
Contents
Chapter 1.
Introduction Project aims and outline
Chapter 2.
Equality of access to inclusive education
Chapter 3.
Research findings from some international universities
Chapter 4.
Visits to organisations in Nablus
Chapter 5.
Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
3
4
6
10
15
18
24
Chapter 7.
Summary of the current situation at An-Najah 35
Chapter 8.
Recommendations and Findings
Conclusion
39
44
References and Useful Resources
45
Chapter 6.
Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Appendices
Appendix 1
Self Assessment Checklists 46
Appendix 2
An-Najah Child Institute 53
Appendix 3
Complete answers to all open questions in the survey 56
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Introduction
Background
Disabled students at An-Najah University
KIDS National Development Department
(NDD) was commissioned by The British
Council to work with them, staff from An-Najah
National University’s Office for International
Development and External Affairs and the
University’s People with Disability Care Office
to look at how the university could develop
to become more accessible to disabled
students.
The university is committed to providing equality
of opportunity to education, the OCFD
co-ordinates the support available to disabled
students.
In 2008 there were 8 disabled students
attending the university, this number has
increased over a six year period and was 83 in
2014.
Disabled students who attend the university are
those who have been able to receive a school
education.
The People with Disability Care Office
(OCFD) at An-Najah National University is
embedded within the Community Service and
Continuing Education Service and states it is:
“one of many offices and facilities established
for making students’ lives easy, active and
full of energy. The OCFD was established to
make the lives of students with disability more
active and integrated with the society of the
University.
This Office focuses its efforts mainly on
the right to education, particularly higher
education, for this group of people since
providing them with education will pave the
road for a great change in their lives.
• Providing the people with disabilities with
education and training.
• Enabling those people to achieve
economical independence by providing
them with job opportunities.
• Contributing to their integration into
their society and to become an effective
member within their environment.”
3
Those who are attending the university in 2014
have the following impairments or conditions:
Which impairment or condition
does the student have?
Visual impairment or blind
Deaf or hearing impairment
Physical impairment
Autistic spectrum
Medical condition
Mental health condition
Speech, language/
communication
Other
How many
in 2014?
15
10
35
0
12
0
4
5
The number of disabled students who graduated
in 2012 was 9, in 2013 it was 7.
There are currently 3 disabled students who are
blind, who are studying for their Masters
degrees.
KIDS University Inclusion Project
Project aims and outline
The aim of this project work was to support AnNajah National University in their aspiration to
provide equality of access to educational
opportunities for disabled and non-disabled
students, thus enabling them to become a
flagship for other educational establishments in
Palestine.
Project methods
KIDS desktop research included a brief
familiarisation with some of the current good
practice at An Najah University and at other
universities across the world. It also looked at
contextualizing the university’s position within
current legislation and UN conventions, and
asserting the aim of equality of access and
inclusion at the university as a human right.
A questionnaire was developed by KIDS in
collaboration with the University’s People with
Disability Care Office. This was made available
online in English via ‘survey monkey’ (a widely
used online aggregator).
An Arabic version of the questionnaire was
widely distributed by email to contacts of the
OCFD, students and university staff. Braille
copies of the questionnaire were available and
printed copies were widely distributed during
KIDS’ visit.
The visits enabled KIDS to witness some of the
cultural and societal issues which affect every
aspect of the lives of disabled children and their
families. This affects the way families respond to
having a disabled child, the reaction of the community and the aspirations of the family for their
child.
This, together with a number of other factors,
can affect the child’s access to education at an
early age. This inevitably affects their opportunity
to reach their full potential academically and to
access university as young disabled students.
The report has been written in a number of
chapters which summarize and consolidate the
information and present the recommendations
for the development of inclusive educational
opportunities at the university.
5 key areas have been identified by KIDS to
organise the information considered to be
important to provide disabled students equality
of access to higher educational opportunities.
This provides a structure which runs through the
report to support the reader to refer to
information about a particular topic in different
sections of the report.
KIDS has also developed 5 self assessment
checklists based on these key areas which are
in Appendix 1.
The visit to Nablus was coordinated to provide
KIDS with a wide range of opportunities to meet
not only disabled and non-disabled students
and staff at the university, but also a number of
other organisations who are directly involved or
interested in supporting the project’s aim.
This program of visits gave KIDS a brief
introduction and overview of some of the issues
which are facing disabled people in Palestine.
4
Chapter 1 - Project aims and outline
The project started with desktop research, the
development, translation and distribution of a
questionnaire and a 4 day visit to the city of
Nablus, in Palestine, where the university is
located, concluding with the production of a
comprehensive report.
It also highlighted the work which is taking place
by the organisations and services in Nablus
working in different ways to support the
development of equality of opportunity for all
disabled people including disabled children,
young people and their families.
These 5 key areas are:
1.
Information and marketing –
this includes the university’s links in the
community, portrayal of it’s position, informing
disabled students they are welcome and
expected to come to the university, methods
of distribution of information
Chapter 1 - Project aims and outline
2.
Attitudes – including training available
for all staff and students at the university,
feeling confident and being welcoming and
supportive to disabled students
3.
Accessibility – including transport,
signage, access to the campus, around
the campus and buildings, to learning and
university life
4.
Funding – adequate, reliable funding
needed for individual students needs, quality
service delivery and provision of resources
5.
Policies and procedures –
admissions procedures, economic,
educational and psychological support
available, support and training of staff and
students.
5
KIDS and staff at the university worked with the
support of the director of the OCFD and a
member of staff from IDEA, who was the
translator, to understand all of the communications
which took place during the project work.
KIDS is an English charity and unfortunately
KIDS staff do not speak Arabic. Every attempt
has been made to accurately reflect the
information conveyed to KIDS during meetings
and through the questionnaire.
KIDS has based their report on the information
which was available to them at the time and
within the time constraints of the project.
KIDS was unable to access some university
documentation concerning policy covering
disabled students as they were unavailable in
English.
Much of the information contained in this report
is an overview of what was seen and heard
by or reported to KIDS. It is to be viewed as a
snapshot of the current situation at the university
and in the wider community of people, services
and organisations who are striving to support
the rights of disabled people, disabled children
and their families in Nablus, including the right
to receive a quality education on an equal basis.
Chapter 2
Equality of access to inclusive
education
Disability and inclusion are terms which can
easily be used and just as easily misunderstood.
The way disabled people are treated and the
services which are provided for them vary within
and between countries. Therefore this chapter
will present a number of different definitions and
descriptions and explain KIDS position behind
the recommendations it makes.
What do we mean when we talk about
disability?
Palestinian Disability Law (1999)1 uses the
following definition for ‘the disabled’:
‘Any individual suffering from a permanent
partial or total disability whether congenital or
not in his/her physical, psychological, or mental
capacities to the extent that it restricts the
fulfilment of his/her normal living requirements
in a manner not usually faced by those without
disabilities.’
KIDS also recognises disabled people as people
who have a physical, sensory or mental
impairment, including mental health issues, but
differs in that it recognises that it is the
interaction with social, attitudinal and
environmental constraints which creates barriers
for disabled people.
KIDS recognises that it is this interaction which
hinders their full and equal participation in
society.
KIDS definition is similar to the one used by the
International Classification of Functioning,
Disability and Health (ICF)2 in the World Report
on Disability3. It defines disability as an umbrella
term for impairments, activity limitations, and
participation restrictions.
The emphasis on the external factors which
create barriers for disabled people will be
identified throughout this report.
The project aim is to support An-Najah
University to further develop their support for
the inclusion of disabled students at the
university, so clarification of what is this
meant by inclusion is important for the
purpose of this report.
What is inclusion?
KIDS recognises inclusive provision as
provision that is open and accessible to all,
and takes positive action in removing barriers,
so that disabled and non disabled people can
participate.
What is Inclusive Education?
Inclusive education can often be confused
with integrated education.
Inclusive education is when the education
system adapts to meet the individual
requirements of the child.
Integrated education is when the child is
present but the emphasis is on the child to
change and adapt, whilst the school stays the
same.
The aim of this project is to develop the work
of the OCFD to carry on promoting the
inclusive model of education.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC)4 says that every child has:
•The right to a childhood (including protection from
harm)
•The right to be educated (including all girls and boys
completing primary school)
•The right to be healthy (including having clean water,
nutritious food and medical care)
•The right to be treated fairly (including changing laws
and practices that are unfair on children)
•The right to be heard (including children’s views)
6
Chapter 2 - Equality of access to inclusive education
In this chapter of the report the background to
the concept of inclusive education will be briefly
covered.
This is particularly important for this project as
the work has been carried out by an English
charity working with a Palestinian University.
It states that disability refers to the negative
aspects of the interaction between
individuals with a health condition (such as
cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, depression)
and personal and environmental factors (such
as negative attitudes, inaccessible
transportation and public buildings, and
limited social supports).
Chapter 2 - Equality of access to inclusive education
The Enabling Education Network (EENET)5
was set up to establish an information
sharing network to support and promote the
inclusion of marginalised groups in education
worldwide.
EENET suggests that there is no universally
agreed understanding of inclusive education,
however they have developed a definition
during a seminar in Agra, India in 1998
and KIDS considers their interpretation of
the concept of inclusive education which
is presented in this table, to be a helpful
explanation when considering the inclusion of
disabled students at An Najah.
Inclusive education is ...
...a constantly evolving process of change
and improvement within schools and the wider
education system to make education more
welcoming, learner-friendly, and beneficial for a
wide range of people
...about restructuring education cultures,
policies and practices so that they can
respond to a diverse range of learners - male
and female; disabled and non-disabled; from
different ethnic, language, religious or financial
backgrounds; of different ages; and facing
different health, migration, refugee or other
vulnerability challenges
...about changing the education system so
that it is flexible enough to accommodate any
learner
...an ongoing effort to identify and remove
barriers that exclude learners within each
unique situation
...about identifying and removing barriers to
learners' presence in (access to) education,
participation in the learning process, and
academic and social achievement
...focused on solving attitude, practice,
policy, environmental and resource barriers
...a process in which all stakeholders should
participate (teachers, learners, parents,
community members, government policymakers, local leaders, NGOs, etc)
7
The World Report on Disability3 highlights the
environmental barriers’ which can restrict the
inclusion of disabled people, including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inadequate policies and standards
Negative attitudes
Lack of provision of services
Problems with service delivery
Inadequate funding
Lack of accessibility
Lack of consultation and involvement
Lack of data and evidence
Inclusive education is not ...
...a one-off project that can be delivered and
completed within a short timeframe
...focused just on developing education for
disabled learners within mainstream settings
...about trying to change the learner so that he/
she can fit more conveniently into an
unchanged education system
...based on following a set formula of actions
that can be used in any situation
...focused just on helping learners to gain
access to schools or classrooms
...just about overcoming financial and
environmental challenges
...a project that can be implemented solely by
external experts or education officials
Why develop more educational places for
disabled children and young people in
Palestine?
The OCFD6 states that in Palestine, the number
of disabled people is also increasing.
They say this is due to the following reasons:
• The direct and indirect injuries caused by
the Israeli occupation which has resulted in
many Palestinians being disabled.
• The absence of proper medical care.
• The absence of parental awareness and the
lack of early detection procedures.
• The majority of people who are planning for
marriage do not carry out premarital
examinations.
• The increase in endogamy within the
Palestinian society.
• Traffic accidents and work injuries.
• Other reasons.
The OCFD also state that there are more than
150,000 documented cases of people with
disabilities in Palestine, and there are large
numbers of people with ‘mental disabilities’ still
undocumented.
This position demonstrates the need to prepare
for more disabled children needing and
expecting to receive an education in the future.
Why more inclusive education?
Disabled children have a universal and
fundamental right to receive an inclusive
education as stated in Palestinian Disability Law,
the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD)7 and the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC).
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities (UNCRPD)7, adopted in 2006, aims to
“promote, protect and ensure the full and equal
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for
their inherent dignity”.
It reflects the major shift in global understanding and
responses towards disability.
UNCRPD Article 24
This article in the convention ‘affirms the right
of people with disabilities to inclusive
education, at all levels, without discrimination
and on the basis of equality of opportunity.
States must ensure that children with disabilities:
• Are not excluded from the general education
system and can access inclusive, quality and
free primary and secondary education on an
equal basis with others in the communities in
which they live
• Are provided with reasonable accommodation
of their needs
• Receive the support they need within the
general education system
• Are provided with individualised support
measures consistent with full inclusion.
States must also take measures to enable
people with disabilities to participate equally in
education and their communities by supporting
learning of all alternative forms of communication,
and enabling deaf, blind and deafblind children
to learn in the most appropriate languages and
modes in environments that maximise their
development.
The education system must enable people with
disabilities to achieve the full development of
heir personality, talents, creativity and mental
and physical abilities a sense of worth, respect
for human rights and effective participation in
8
society.’
Chapter 2 - Equality of access to inclusive education
The OCFD has carried out a number of research
reports and studies which provide a valuable
insight into the lives of disabled people and
disabled children and their families and these
are available on the university website.
Palestinian Disability Law Article 10
The reference to education in this document
states:
‘The Ministry shall be in charge of
coordination with all relevant and competent
bodies to secure the welfare and rehabilitation
of the disabled in the following spheres.
In the education sector:
a. To guarantee the right of the disabled to
attain equal opportunities to enroll in the
various educational and training facilities and
in universities in accordance with the curricula
determined in these establishments.
b. To provide the educational analysis
essential for determining the nature of the
disability and its extent.
c. To provide appropriate educational and
training curricula and approaches and other
suitable facilities.
d. To provide various types and levels of
education to the disabled individuals
according to their needs.
e. To prepare qualified educators to train the
disabled according to the type of disability.’
Chapter 2 - Equality of access to inclusive education
UNCRC Article 28
This article is particularly relevant as it
describes the right to education on the basis
of equal opportunity. It says states must:
• ‘Make primary education compulsory and
available free to all
• Make secondary education, including
general and vocational education,
available and accessible to every child,
and take measures to take it free
• Make higher education accessible to all on
the basis of capacity by every appropriate
me and
• Make educational and vocational
information and guidance available and
accessible to all children
• Take measures to encourage regular
attendance at schools and the reduction of
drop-out rates.‘
9
The UNCRC recognises this right to education
in Article 28 and 29, which is relevant to this
report as the potential for disabled students to
go to university is dependent upon their ability
to gain a high enough Tijawa score at the end
of school which is dependent upon the level of
education they have received in school.
In summary
Young people and students in Palestine, and
across the world, are generally receiving higher
levels of education.
Disabled children and young people should
expect the same opportunities to be available to
them on an equal basis. It is their right.
Chapter 3
This section of the report presents some
interesting and current good practise from a few
international universities. The topics chosen are
the ones considered to be of particular interest
to An-Najah.
KIDS contacted key staff at some UK
universities, resulting in a very successful visit
and meeting at the University of Leeds.
Only 16 universities achieved full marks for
supplying the following information on their
website:
1. accessible information on the home page
2. a direct point of contact
3. information about accessible accommodation
4. adaptations to university buildings
5. accessible leisure facilities
The information is grouped within these 5 key
areas:
Some of these were Coventry, Bournemouth,
Huddersfield, Bangor and Bradford universities.
This list of questions was compiled by
disabled students and was what they felt
would be most useful for them to be able to
find out from a website.
1. Information and marketing
2. Attitudes
Involvement with the community
The University of Leeds8 is committed to
continual development of its work with schools,
colleges, community groups and other higher
education providers, businesses and other key
bodies in order to increase the intake of
students from a diverse range of backgrounds
so that the university community is more broadly
representative of wider society, to support more
young people to reach their full potential.
Students identifying themselves as being
disabled
Some disabled students do not identify with
this label.
When considering access to university and
the support disabled people should expect
to receive, the definition and the ‘labelling’ of
students as being disabled students can be
an issue. This has been the case at An-Najah
as well as at some universities in England.
This reluctance of disabled students to define
themselves in this way can exclude or delay
the application process and inevitably as a
consequence, the receipt of financial support,
resources and materials which could support
their learning.
KIDS has also used some reports and university
websites to find the information presented in this
report.
Part of the work at the University of Leeds is to
raise the aspirations and awareness of young
people aged 13 or under to higher education.
They use a number of different activities,
including festivals of science, arts and social
sciences; and discovery days for young people.
They also arrange an annual teacher and
advisor conference at the university.9
The University of Durham10 has a
Disability Gifted and Talented Programme which
gives some disabled children the opportunity to
attend sports sessions at the university,
increasing their confidence but also introducing
them to some aspect sof university life.
In an effort to overcome this ‘labelling’ barrier
for disabled students some of the universities
in England are producing lists which clearly
identify the range of impairments and
conditions they include in the term ‘disabled
student’.
The University of Durham uses a generic
definition from the Disability Discrimination
Act (2005) but also identifies a list of specific
impairments and conditions. The University
of Leeds has a similar list.
10
Chapter 3 - Research findings from some international universities
Research findings from some
international universities
Information presented on university
websites
Many students use the internet to find out
information if they have access to it.
In the Trailblazer’s 2013 report11, the top
100 University websites were surveyed to see
how easy it was to access online information.
Chapter 3 - Research findings from some international universities
Training
KIDS experience of working with disabled
people repeatedly reinforces the importance
of supporting understanding and positive
attitudes towards disabled people.
It is important for the university’s staff,
students and volunteers who work with
the disabled students to be welcoming
and supportive. This can be developed by
providing staff training and support.
The University of Durham has produced
a Disability Awareness booklet, which is
available for university library staff, and a
‘Teaching Students with Disabilities’ staff
information handbook.
The Higher Education Funding Council for
England funded a project called the DEMOS
project which ran from 2000 to March 2003.
This project developed an online learning
package to support academic staff to
understand the issues disabled students face
in higher education.
Although some of the materials are out
of date due to changes in legislation, this
package is still a useful resource covering
a number of topics including disability
awareness.
The University of Western Australia in Sydney,
has also developed an online learning
module: ‘Academic Integration Plan - the
Nuts and Bolts’
The module has been developed specifically
for, and with a focus on, Academic Unit
Coordinators and professional staff working
directly with disabled students.
Support
Provision of a range of good quality support
can make a big difference to disabled
students experiences of living and studying at
university.
Every university in UK should have a disability
support advisor; some will have teams of
support workers.
The University of Leeds has approximately
35,000 students in total, of which about 3,800
are disabled students.
It has a large team who work with disabled
students to support their academic life whilst
at the university.
11
They have a Disability Team of 5 support
advisors, each of which specialises in
supporting students with particular impairments
or conditions.
There are 3 members of the Support Worker
Team who work with 80 staff to support disabled
students in a number of ways, including
providing paid note-takers, personal assistants
and mentors and by helping disabled students
to develop their academic skills through the
Disability Strategy Support Scheme.
The University of Leeds also has a dedicated
Mental Health Advisor and 5 staff who work in
the Transcription Centre, who each
specialise in particular courses and provide a
range of services, including Braille
transcriptions, digital audio recordings and
tactile diagrams for students as required.
Each academic school and faculty has a
Disability Contact, who is responsible for
working with relevant staff, personal tutors and
module leads to make sure the student’s
requirements and needs are being met within
their department.
A similar support service was found at the
University of Western Australia, with a section
on their website specifically detailing support
for staff.
‘Trailblazers’ is a group of disabled campaigners from
across UK. They have produced 2 reports about the
challenges which still exist for disabled students
wanting to access higher education. The first report was
in 2009 and the second, in October 2013, was entitled
‘University Challenge 2013’11 The challenges identified
in this report include: physical access, accomodation,
support teams, personal care and payment, social life,
careers advice and work placements.
3. Accessibility
Making an environment accessible for more
people not only gives a message of welcome to
disabled people, it also gives a message to nondisabled people that disabled people are
expected and entitled to attend and to be
included in that environment, reflecting the
policy of the organisation.
KIDS visited the University of Leeds and
photographed some of the changes they have
made in order to make some of their old
buildings more accessible including the North
– South Access Route on one campus.
A Changing Places toilet has been installed on
the campus following the guidelines laid out by
MENCAP, a UK charity. It includes a changing
bench and a shower as well as plenty of space
to move around, support bars and a basin.
12
Chapter 3 - Research findings from some international universities
Long gradual ramps have been built where possible or signs using large text, have been installed
indicating alternative access routes.
Chapter 3 - Research findings from some international universities
In UK many reception areas have a dual
height reception desk to enable receptionists
to be more welcoming and helpful to more
people – this is common practice at the
University of Leeds.
The university also has an accessible
campus map on its website which helps
students acquaint themselves with the
campus.
DisabledGo.com provides a university by
university guide for UK universities where
students can check physical access to places
such as halls of residence, places to eat,
lecture halls, student unions and transport
links which can be used as a useful model to
scope existing services.
Reasonable adjustments
When considering changing an environment
to make it more accessible there is a
requirement in UK to make ‘reasonable
adjustments’ under The Equality Act 201012.
The University of Leeds Equality Service
describes these ‘requirements’ in relation to
students and staff at the University and the
services it provides and interprets ‘reasonable
adjustments’ according to the resources
available, the cost and practicalities and the
potential benefit.
It considers the requirements as:
• The way they do things e.g. providing
materials and resources in an accessible
format
• Physical accessibility e.g. to lecture halls
• Provision of auxiliary aids and services
The Disability Rights UK Factsheet - F21
has very useful information about applying to
higher education. It states:
‘Under the Equality Act 2010, all universities
and colleges have a duty to make reasonable
adjustments to their services, so disabled
students are not placed at a substantial
disadvantage.’
Assistive technology
The University of Leeds is committed to
providing a range of assistive technology at
a number of locations on the campus.
13
4. Funding
Universities in the UK work in different ways,
but all disabled students in England are entitled
to have paid non-medical support staff whilst
at university. Disabled students can apply for
Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) from
Student Finance England.
DSA is available to students who have a:
•
disability
•
long-term health condition
•
mental health condition
•
specific learning difficulty, such as
dyslexia or dyspraxia.
DSA is worked out according to each disabled
student’s individual needs, it does not depend
on a student’s income, it is paid on top of other
student finance and does not have to be repaid.
Students who are eligible for the DSA are
required to contact an accredited assessment
centre for a Study Aids and Study Strategies
Assessment or “needs assessment”
DSA support is provided to ‘level the playing
field’ for disabled students studying at university.
This payment is an entitlement for disabled
students if they have been assessed as
requiring extra support. They are to enable the
student to get help with the costs of:
• specialist equipment, like computer software
• non-medical helpers, like a note-taker or
reader
• extra travel costs you have to pay because
of your disability
• other costs, like photocopying
The maximum amounts a disabled student can
receive for the 2014-2015 academic year is
shown in the following table:
Type of Specialist
student equipment
allowance
Full
Up to
time
£5,212 for
year
the whole
course
Part
Up to
time
£5,212 for
a whole
year
course
Non-medical
helper
allowance
Up to
£20,725 a
year
General
allowance
Up to
£15,543 a
year
Up to
£1,305 a
year
Up to
£1,741 a
year
5. Policy and Procedures
The University of Leeds has a dedicated part of
their website which has information for new
and prospective disabled students in one
place.
The University of Leeds ‘Access to Leeds’
scheme is an alternative admissions scheme
which allows student who have been unable to
show their abilities through the traditional route
of achieving certain ‘A’ level grades.
Special consideration is given to students who
are eligible to apply and who participate and
successfully complete the programme.
The programme has two parts, which are Study
Skills and Subject Skills. This scheme is not
specifically designed to support disabled
students but it does offer some ideas about a
practical way of ‘levelling the playing field’.
In the UK Action to Access have produced a
document entitled ‘Supporting professionalism in Admissions’ which states on page 2 that
under the UK Equality Act 2010:
‘As with previous legislation, an institution is
expected to make reasonable adjustments to its
admissions practices, services and facilities in
respect of disabled applicants and it may treat a
disabled applicant more favourably than a nondisabled applicant.
However, the Act exempts the application of
competence standards from this requirement to
make reasonable adjustments’.
Educational support and resources
In UK disabled students expect to be provided
with professional trained staff, not volunteers, to
support their individual non-medical
requirements.
This is paid for by the DSA payment as
described earlier.
Participation of disabled students in the
development, evaluation and monitoring
of policy, procedures and practises
regarding disabled students
In the UK, the University of Leeds ‘Access
Agreement 2013-2014’ explains the 2011
University ‘Partnership’ which has been
developed by students and staff ,
describing their mutual expectations of each
other, including the facilitation of the
involvement of students at all levels of
decision making.
ACCESS at the University of Victoria in
Canada is an association of disabled and
non-disabled students, not university staff.
The goal of ‘ACCESS’ is to contribute to
greater understanding, inclusion and
accessibility for all disabled people on
campus and in society.
They work very closely with the university to
promote the rights of disabled students.
Careers advice
Durham University provides specific advice
for disabled students to support their
particular worries and concerns regarding
their career prospects after graduation.
In summary
This chapter has used the 5 key areas to look
at some of the ways other universities remove
some of the barriers to education for disabled
students. The next chapter will look at the
work of organisations and services in Nablus
who work to promote the right to
education for all.
14
Chapter 3 - Research findings from some international universities
Admissions
The University of Western Sydney, Australia,
has a Disability Service which has developed a
Student Handbook.
The handbook covers aspects of law and policy,
the services, the university’s principles and
procedures and the practical aspects of
accessing support within whilst studying at the
university.
The opportunity to be assessed in
different ways have been suggested for
disabled students to complete all course
work, assignments, tests and exams in a
module within the UK’s DEMOS Project.
These are intended to enable equality by
allowing disabled students to show their
knowledge in a number of different ways,
including suggesting a student could have a
‘viva’ instead of an written exam.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - Visits to organisations in Nablus
Visits to organisations in Nablus
A key part of KIDS research was to visit the
university and to meet disabled students and
some of the staff from the university.
The programme of KIDS visit was compiled
by the office for International Development
and Externals Affairs (IDEA) and the People
with Disability Care Office (OCFD). It involved
meeting a wide range of organisations who
are working with disabled children and adults
in Nablus.
KIDS’ four day visit included being escorted to
14 meetings by two members of staff from the
university.
All of the visits provided evidence that the
involvement of the university’s OCFD was
highly regarded and valued, whether they
were to professionals working in government
departments or parents who had set up their
own charity. There appeared to be a united
and supportive network of organisations
working together to support disabled children
and their families in Nablus.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education
To set the scene for education in Nablus
it is important to have an overview of the
current provision and situation of the Ministry
of Education, as explained to KIDS, by the
Assistant Director of Education and the
Head of the Special Educational Needs
Department.
These are:
• the objective of the department stems from
the constitution’s statement ‘education for all’
• the ministry visits schools with the OCFD
and other organisation as part of an
awareness campaign
• there is an expectation on the family
bringing their disabled child to school
• all access requirements have been
addressed - entrances and bathrooms are
accessible
• 5 of the 178 schools in Nablus are
equipped with a resource room with
equipment to support students with
learning difficulties and more are planned
15
• there are 32 disabled teachers in Nablus
• 170 disabled children attended mainstream
schools a few years ago, now there are 567
disabled children in schools in Nablus
• 127 have a physical impairment, 7 are blind,
the largest number have speech difficulties
and some have a hearing impairment
• children with autism or with a learning
difficulty may not be currently included in the
schools
• no extra staff are supplied to support
disabled children in mainstream school,
sometimes volunteers are used with groups
of disabled children
• all schools should have a committee of
disabled and non-disabled children to
support disabled children
• assessment of children - some come from
specialist schools with a previous
assessment
• if a child starts school and a need is
identified, the school is then expected to
request support from the ministry
• each school has a psycho-social councillor
• some money for aid for equipment comes
from the High Commission for the Support of
the Disabled in Nablus Governorate
During the visits, KIDS realised that a number
of common themes were emerging, which the
organisations have identified as being important
to support disabled children and their families
in Nablus. These themes, together with some
examples of how they are being put into practice
by some of he organisations and services, will
now be considered:
Funding - assistance with costs
Funding was a key issue for some of the
educational organisations visited and was
recognised by them, as a major issue for most
disabled people and for disabled children and
their families who are generally regarded as the
poorest families in the community.
The Red Crescent School for disabled children
has 155 pupils up to 18 years old who are deaf,
have down’s syndrome or cerebral palsy and
provides other specialist services.
The Ministry of Education is providing funding
for 14 teachers. It receives donations from the
people and organisations of Nablus, Jordan and
the Gulf.
There is also some sponsorship for particular
children. All families make at least a small
contribution to their child’s education and
transport is provided for some children from the
villages around Nablus.
SANAD is funded by a group of local mothers,
who have set up the service which currently has
a small class for children with Down’s
Syndrome.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
provides a number of services in Nablus and is
the main provider of education for Palestinian
refugees. It has 99 schools in the camps on the
West Bank for children up to 14 years old.
Parents are expected to make at least a small
contribution to their education and transport
costs.
Partnership work - exchange of services/
skills
An-Najah University supplies enlargement of
text for schools.
The Society for the Care of Children with
Disability provides work placements for social
work students from the university and staff to
help to assess some children in mainstream
schools.
The Red Crescent School provides sign
language courses to the university, some
children from the 11th and 12th grade visit the
university to see what it is like and sometimes
use the university sports facilities.
Attitudinal change to inclusion community development - outreach
services – work with families
This is seen as a very important part of
everyone’s work as traditionally disabled
children have been cared for, but not
accepted in society as having the potential for
development and learning.
The Ministry of Education, the GUPWD and
the university along with some other
organisations go out together to visit staff and
children in schools to tell them about
disabled children’s right to education
contained in Palestinian Disability Law in
order challenge and encourage change in the
community’s attitudes towards disabled
people and to support parents to overcome
the stigma of having a disabled child.
The university supports the Ministry of
Education at meetings with school staff who
are struggling with including disabled children.
The Red Crescent visits the local councils
and families in each village to encourage families to send their disabled children to school –
in the past no children who were deaf went to
school, but over the last 5/6 years there has
been more uptake. However, even though the
children are using sign language in school,
few families will use sign language at home.
The Red Crescent also understands that
some families find it hard to accept their
disabled child especially if they are ‘mental
cases’.
They run inclusive summer play camps for
disabled and non-disabled children aged 5-12
years old, using 7/8 staff and 90 volunteers
including 16 and 17 year old pupils form the
school, who are deaf.
It is also a member of the High Commission
for the Support of the Disabled in Nablus
which supports the issues and rights of
disabled people.
16
Chapter 4 - Visits to organisations in Nablus
The Care for Children with Special Needs
Society (CCSNS) has 65 pupils up to 14 years
old attending their school including children who
have autism, speech and language
difficulties and learning difficulties and provides
other specialist services.
The Ministry of Education is providing funding
for 4 staff. The society receives international
donations, including money from the Arab Fund
for Development and Swedish and American
aid. It is very well resourced and says they
replace all equipment every 5 years.
The Palestinian General Union for People
with Disability (GUPWD)’s wheelchair
basketball team use the outdoor court at the
university sometimes and is involved in
meetings in schools with the Ministry of
Education.
Chapter 4 - Visits to organisations in Nablus
The CCSNS works in many ways with the
communities improving public awareness,
working in the camps and the north area
of the West Bank, in the cities and in the
surrounding villages and working with and
supporting families. It also works to include
children from its school into mainstream
schools.
The An-Najah Child Institute (ACI) is
a recent addition to the university. It is a
specialized institute belonging to the Faculty
of Medicine and Health Sciences at the
University and has a vision to help to build an
inclusive society and is looking at advocacy
and support as part of it’s mission to improve
the lives of disabled children.
Assessment services
Disabled student’s potential can only be fully
realised if their needs are being assessed and
their individual requirements are being met at
a very early stage of their lives. There seem
to a number of different systems and services
assessing children in Nablus.
The UNRWA has their own system of
assessment, diagnosis, intervention and
support for disabled children to go to
school. They use specialists to make the
assessments and diagnosis.
CCSNS supplies some staff into mainstream
schools to assess children.
ACI aims to provide quality diagnosis and
management services to children with
developmental disorders as it feels there is a
need for this in Nablus.
More information about this institute and the
services it is delivering are in Appendix 2.
Need for specialist therapy services
The Red Crescent School provides
occupational therapy, physiotherapy and
audiology services to adults as well as
children.
The CCSNS specialises in communication
services and has 5 speech therapists that
provide 500 treatment sessions a month to
disabled children.
17
It has 3 staff who specialise in delivering
services to children with hearing difficulties.
The school has 7 children with autism. 53 other
children with autism visit their service for some
support.
54 occupational therapy and physiotherapy
sessions are provided each month.
SANAD has 8 staff, including occupational
therapists, speech therapists and
physiotherapists who see 80 children a month.
ACI will target Palestinian children on the
autistic spectrum, as well as children who have
attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity,
immature neurological development, speech
and communication disorders, sensory
processing disorders, and learning disabilities.
Staff training needed
Some school staff and managers were
concerned by the difficulty they have in
receiving training and information from
international trainers to keep them up to date
with current international practise which would
compliment their regular local training
opportunities.
ACI will also be offering training to health and
education professionals through integrating
academic training, research and clinical
services.
Use of volunteers
The Red Crescent use some volunteers in their
school.
An-Najah University’s Community Service
Centre (CSC) provides some volunteers to work
with groups of disabled children in mainstream
schools as well as non-disabled students to
support disabled students at the university.
In summary
KIDS believes it is very important to recognise
and build on the work which is already taking
place within Nablus, when developing
accessible opportunities for disabled students to
attend university.
This next chapter will consider the physical
accessibility of two of An-Najah’s campuses.
Chapter 5
During the visit to Nablus the opportunity was
taken to scope the accessibility for disabled
students on the old and new campuses.
The journey for a student will start from where
they live and will usually involve some form of
transport to get them to the campus.
All of the entrances to the university were
continually busy with people, taxi’s and buses
picking up, dropping off and waiting for
passengers, especially at the beginning and
end of the university day.
Making an environment accessible for more
people not only gives a message of welcome
to disabled people it also gives a message to
non-disabled people that disabled people are
expected and entitled to attend and be included
in that environment.
KIDS was informed that accessible taxis were
rare and could cost double the normal amount
for the passenger. Disabled students would
not be expected to own their own cars.
In this chapter the issues of transport, access to
the campus, around the campus and buildings,
signage on the campus and access to learning
and university life will briefly be considered.
All entrances which were seen during this tour
had gates and security guards.
One frequently used entrance, which was the
nearest to the OFCD was found to have high
kerbs on both sides of the road outside, as
well as vertical security panels at the gate.
This created a narrow ‘corridor- like’ entrance
for the students to walk though once inside
the gates and could be a barrier for some
students.
An-Najah has started to address the issue of
physical accessibility on their campuses.
The university has four campuses. KIDS did not
have the opportunity to visit two of the
campuses. The university website states that
the Hisham Hijjawi College of Technology
has been built as an accessible environment for
disabled students.
Getting in
Consideration has been given during two visits,
to the accessibility of the new and old
campuses. The old campus inevitably has
additional barriers to becoming physically
accessible to students due to the age of the site
and buildings. It is built on a very steep slope
which has numerous long sets of steps.
Photographs have been taken, during the visits,
to demonstrate a number of possible access
issues.
KIDS used their own self assessment checklist
when assessing the access. This is available,
along with the checklist for the other four key
areas, in Appendix 1.
This critical and subjective overview is not a
comprehensive review and there are many
areas and aspects of university life which may
have been adapted by the university in general,
or for individuals, will not have been reported in
this document, due to the limited time allocated
to each visit.
18
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
Access tour of the An-Najah new and old
campuses
Getting to the university
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
The nearest alternative entrance appeared
to be through a nearby large gate, which was
intended for vehicles. There were several
buses parked across this entrance as it was
usually the beginning or end of the day.
Another entrance to the old campus did not
have high kerbs, the road/pavement surface had
been repaired in a way which made the surface
uneven.
Moving around the campus
High kerbs were evident on the new campus
too and continued across the ends of crossing
places. The kerbs were usually clearly
marked with red and white stripes, crossing
places were marked with black and white
painted lines on the road:
19
Some routes on the campus and into buildings
up/down slopes had both flights of steps and
ramps. The angle of the ramps’ incline varied
considerably from one ramp to another on the
campus.
Some ramps were permanent and others were
moveable metal ones which looked as though
they were in a permanent position. Some ramps
had handrails; these appeared to be the longer
more permanent ones.
One ramp led from the pavement to a locked door
20
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
Both of the campuses were built on slopes.
The old campus had many flights of steps, both
to move between buildings and to get into
buildings, some of which were very long.
It was sometimes difficult to use these steps as
they were all made from the same material in a
light reflective colour and there were no edging
strips.
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
Getting into buildings
Many buildings had wide doorways, the
majority of the main entrance doors to
buildings were left open.
There was no evidence of any automatically
opening doors on the campuses.
Several entrances and doorways had a
small change in floor height just in front
of or between door openings, these were
unmarked.
.
The library on the old campus had a long
flight of steps and a closed door.
An alternative route had been arranged in
difficult circumstances.
Entry could be gained by going to the back
of the building, up a road, past the bins, past
parked cars and over uneven ground to a
locked door, where a doorbell would bring
someone to allow access.
This alternative route into the building was not
signposted at the main entrance.
21
In one of the
new buildings
KIDS noted a
small change
in floor height
had been
smoothed
over by the
addition of a
filler strip.
Getting around inside the buildings
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
A number of buildings had a reception area.
The person who was employed to welcome
and help people was sitting behind a high sided
desk, which could make communication with a
visitor difficult, as they may not be seen.
Most buildings appeared to have space which
was free from obstacles in reception areas and
in corridors. The libraries and some classrooms
had individual moveable seats, whilst others had
seats which would be more difficult to move to
accommodate a wheelchair user.
Newer buildings had lifts (elevators), some with
very narrow entrances. One of the newest
buildings had a lift positioned immediately inside
the entrance which was helpful.
In older buildings with no lifts, lectures and
seminars could be moved to ground floor
rooms if required.
22
Chapter 5 - Access tour of the An-Najah new and old campuses
Accessible Toilets
There was no
evidence of
any toilets with
facilities for
showering and
changing, and
most toilets
were very
small. Some
toilets were
in buildings
which had lifts
to every floor
however the
toilets were
positioned
between floors.
One building on the
new campus had
accessible toilets on
each floor which were
labelled as ‘Special
People with Special
Needs’.
The toilet on the ground floor was being used
for another purpose, and its change of use
had not been identified on the door. However
there were accessible toilets in this building
on each floor although it was not labelled
alongside the others which were for males
and females.
Signs were only evident inside most buildings,
not on the paths of the campuses. The signs
were located at about 1.5m to 2m above the
floor using small text, no Braille signs were
seen.
The sports facilities
on the new campus
did not appear to
have been designed
to accommodate
students with
physical impairments or who used
wheelchairs. A local team who played
wheelchair basketball accessed the court
through a backdoor entrance.
23
In summary
This photographic tour has shown some of the
efforts which have been made and some of the
challenges which still exist to provide physical
access on the university campuses.
The next chapter is a summary of the responses
to the questionnaires.
can affect disabled students who may want to
come to the university or who are already
attending the university.
Summary of responses to the
questionnaire
There were 24 questions, most of which were
multi-choice with a follow up question asking for
more explanation. The final questions were open
questions and asked what people thought were
the barriers which prevent more students from
attending the university and what improvements
could be made. The final question was an open
question with space for people to tell us anything
else they thought was important.
Why use a questionnaire?
KIDS’ work on this project included sending out
a questionnaire or survey in order to increase
the opportunity for more people to express their
opinions. These opinions reflect people’s
experiences and are a measure of how well the
university is delivering its aims. These opinions
are very important in informing the development
process.
Who was the questionnaire for?
The questionnaire was circulated to all
disabled and non-disabled staff and students at
An-Najah and to all of the services and
organisations which are involved with the
university. The OCFD were responsible for
distributing the questionnaire before KIDS’ visit.
During KIDS’ visit to organisations and services
in Nablus, the staff member from IDEA supplied
and distributed printed copies of the
questionnaire.
How accessible was the questionnaire?
The questionnaire was developed by KIDS in
collaboration with the University’s OCFD.
It was made available in a number of different
formats to enable as many people as possible to
respond if they wanted to.
It was available online in English in ‘survey
monkey’, and was translated by the British
Council and was available in Arabic.
The Arabic translation was emailed to the
OCFD’s contacts, and a printed text version and
Braille translation were also distributed. The
questionnaire can be found by following this link:
A number of people who responded also supplied their name and contact details and said they
were willing to be contacted by KIDS for more
information.
Unfortunately there was no opportunity for KIDS
to do this before the end of this project.
Summary of the responses
71 completed questionnaires were received. 14
were completed online, the 57 paper responses
returned in Arabic were translated into English
and entered on to the online survey.
Some comments have been selected to
demonstrate the range of opinions. The full list of
all the comments can be read in Appendix 3.
What follows is a summary of the statistical data
and the comments’ which were received.
Q 1. What is your age?
Over half of the responses were from people
aged 18-24, all but one were undergraduates.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/an-najahsurvey
What was the questionnaire about?
The questionnaire included some
information about KIDS and the aim of the
project. It asked responders to supply some
information about themselves, and then to give
their opinions about a number of issues which
18-24
25-34
52.94% 17.65%
35-44
45-54
55-64
5.88%
20.59% 2.94%
65 +
0%
24
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q2. What is your gender?
40% of responders were male, 60% were female.
Q3. How are you involved with the
university?
9 people were not involved directly at the
university and included people who identified
themselves as being an activist, volunteers
working with disabled people (2), a journalist, an
administrator, government employees (2), one
who worked supporting disabled people into
employment and a teaching assistant.
36 undergraduates responded, 21 of these were
disabled students, 15 were non-disabled
students.
Q6. If yes, please indicate which of the following impairments or conditions you have:
Q4. If you work or study at the university please
specify which faculty and department.
Faculty
Department
Humanities
Geography x 2,
English x 5, Arabic x1,
French x 1,
Scientific Centers x 1,
Psychology x 1,
11
Economics and
Social Sciences
Accounting
3
Educational
sciences
Elementary teaching,
Psychology
3
Science
Biology
3
Islamic Law
(Shari’a)
3
Information
Technology
Computer information
systems
3
Engineering
Chemical, Architecture
2
Law
Q5. Are you a disabled person?
45% of responders identified as disabled and
55% as non-disabled.
25
Engineering and
Information
technology
2
Electrical engineering,
urban planning
Media
2
1
Veterinary and
Agriculture
Veterinary
1
Faculty of
Medicine and
Health
Family and Community
Medicine
1
Humanities and
Social Sciences
English
1
Hisham Hijawi
Graphic designs
1
Economics
Political Science
1
Q9 Does the cost of studying at university
prevent disabled people from applying to
study?
A third of the people who responded offered
reasons. One of the most usual explanations
was that families of disabled people did not have
much money, had to pay for treatment, did not
have jobs and there may be other siblings in the
family wanting a university education.
Yes
No
88.89%
11.11%
Q8 Do disabled students in schools know it
is possible for them to go to the university?
How could this be improved?
A number of different suggestions were given
including working directly with the schools.
These were for groups from the university to go
into schools and to run awareness campaigns
in them, workshops and training days and to
directly educate children in the schools.
There was lots of support for more advertising in
a variety of ways including running workshops,
seminars, awareness raising activities as well as
using brochures, the media and social media.
One person suggested sending information
to all Directorates of Education and another
suggested using census information.
A few people suggested the need to raise
awareness generally about the right to
education. Two people suggested using case
studies.
“ by sharing and spreading the experiences of
people who are disabled and successfully went
to university”
“a disabled student would not have an income
and totally dependent upon family and wouldn’t
want to burden them with extra expenses other
than treatment”
“people find it pointless to pay tuition for their
kids to go to university when they probably will
not work”
Transport was mentioned by several people.
It is very difficult and expensive, one person
said it was double the cost if an adapted taxi
was needed. The university scholarships were
mentioned but they were said to not be enough
to buy other things the student would need
26
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q7. Did you know that disabled students can
join the university?
If yes, how and where did you know about
the university inclusion policy?
A lot of people said they had heard from the
university somehow, including from the head of
the student council, talks by the university, the
internet, the radio or through seeing
publications. About the same number said they
knew because of disabled people telling them
or seeing disabled people at the university.
Others said they know from their school, the
General Union of Disabled People, the YMCA,
or from friends or family.
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q10 Do you know that disabled students
are supported financially to continue
their studies , socially and with their
educational needs? If yes, where did you
find out about this?
Most people said they had found out about
it from the OCFD and a few had found out
from the website. Others had found out from
disabled people or friends.
“from my own experiences , I didn’t know
before I joined the university. I found out after”
“I knew about the financial support form Mr.
Samer’s Office but I am not sure about the
social support”
Q 12. How helpful is The People with
Disability Care Office to disabled students?
Responses from three of the disabled students
were very complimentary about the OCFD.
“I turned to the People with Disability Care
Office for help with any problem” (this student
has graduated)
“ it helps by providing scholarships, solving
problems they face , claiming their rights and
providing moral support”
“it is financially, academically and
psychologically supportive, and it helps them to
solve the problems they face”
Yes
No
49.23%
50.77%
Q11 How helpful is the information
for disabled students when they start
attending the university? How could this
be improved?
Communication in a variety of ways was
suggested, including using brochures,
workshops, awareness campaigns
“by announcing via all possible means”
“ by coming up with easy and accessible way
and to deliver the information”
Involvement of everyone was also suggested
“by communication with their families, friends
and society”
“it will be improved once all the staff,
instructors and employees and even the
students know how to deal with the disabled,
but this has improved lately”
“there should be help from fellow students
through support groups and administration”
27
Some comments pointed out some difficulties.
“sometimes the People with Disability Care
Office cannot help the disabled students due to
obstacles caused by university regulations”
“it keeps up with the disabled students only
through individual effort but it needs further
support through support groups”
Transport:
“when I was going to the old campus my father
had to drop me off 50m away and I had to walk
in the crowd and many times I was pushed, that
could have been avoided if there was a place for
drop off rigt in front of the entrance”
“by organising the traffic in front of the university
as it is always very crowded and by providing
and transportation just for us the disabled”
“ by having the security guards with the student
council members to help them get to the places
they want”
“by providing adapted vehicles for the disabled
and escorts to help them move around”
Campus access:
“ by proving ramps and easy pathways”
Several people requested ‘special passages” for
disabled people to walk on.
Q 14. How welcoming and supportive are
the general staff at the university to disabled
students e.g. administrative staff, librarians?
There was a huge difference between the
experiences people have received, observed or
expect in the explanations
“it depends on the employees’ mood”
“ it differs from one employee to another”
“ different people treat disabled students
differently, some would not even be willing to
talk to them some treat them with inferiority and
some are very nice to them”
“ because of the nature of our society people are
helpful and sympathetic(customs and traditions)“
“they try everything they can and they respect
us”
“ not all of them are willing to help, they need to
be trained”
“because for them having disabled students
would cause confusion and extra work”
Q 15. How welcoming and supportive are
the university teaching staff to disabled
students?
The comments which were given gave another
mixed set of opinions, which seemed to be
dependent upon each individual and seemed to
be accepted.
“ it differs for different instructors some are great
and some are bad”
“they take care of them even after the classes
as they answer their questions and inquiries
about the material”
“ some instructors are notably not considerate
of the conditions of the disabled students and
sometimes they reluctantly cooperate”
28
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q13a. How accessible is the university
campus for disabled students?
OR Q13b. How easy is it to get to the
university? How could this be improved?
Unfortunately there was a mistake with the
translation of this question into Arabic so people
who answered the English version answered
Q13a. and those who read the Arabic version
answered Q13b. However there is quite a clear
indication that accessibility is an issue whether it
be access to the university or access around the
university.
The main themes which were expressed were
that there needs to be adapted transport, drop
off points for disabled people and ramps and
lifts provided . Some people said paid escorts
were needed to support disabled people. Due to
the double interpretation of this question there
were a lot of responses to the follow up question
relating only to transport issues.
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Some of the responses highlighted the need
for training and support with a more uniform
approach through policy.
“they are generally welcoming, within their
experience of dealing with the disabled and
they are all willing to cooperate”
“I don’t see anything formal or legal attention,
they only care out of personal feelings of
compassion”
“not all the teaching staff have enough
information on how to deal with the disabled”
Q17 How welcoming and supportive are
non-disabled students towards disabled
students?
There were a number of very different
experiences explained which reflected disabled
students feelings that non-disabled students
help out of a sense of duty, sympathy or pity
and a number of people suggesting awareness
raising and training.
Q16 How good is the support provided for
individual disabled students to study their
chosen subject at the university?
There were a number of considerations
identified which influenced disabled students’
choice of course to study which included
the cost, whether it would lead to a job more
easily and access difficulties in the university
and in the external environment.
“as the cost of some subjects is higher
than others, the disabled students ten to
choose the less expensive unless they get a
scholarship then they study the subject they
want”
“they are guided to the subjects that are most
suitable for them in professional life”
“they are advise to study whatever their
abilities and the requirements of the job
market”
“not all subjects are available for the disabled
students as some buildings are not adapted”
“ from my point of view, the companies and
institutions prefer to hire the non-disabled, it is
not about the subjects”
29
“sometimes I see students harassing the
disabled verbally and non-verbally. I had
incidents myself it depends on the student’s
attitude, some of them respect the disabled
students and some of them have an inferior
view of the disabled, it is the person’s and the
society’s culture”
“they help them as much as they can out of pity”
“some students are mean to them and avoid
their company”
”there are some of them who don’t know about
the disabled and never dealt with them before
so there should be an awareness campaign”
“how a non-disabled student treats a disabled
one depends on his/her education and
awareness of the issue, some are responsive
and are willing to help and some don’t respond
at all, this shows the importance of activating
classroom awareness and answering all
inquiries”
“some students have to be educated and
informed about the special needs of the
disabled”
“we cannot deny that they are welcomed but a
minority is still afraid of hurting their feelings if
they do welcome them”
Q19 How accessible and welcoming are
the social clubs and activities to disabled
students? How could this be improved?
The comments were again very varied and gave
a different impression. Many comments were
about provision of clubs and activities specially
for disabled students:
Q18 How well adapted is the student
accommodation for disabled students? How
could this be improved?
This appears to be an area that people feel
there has been little attention to adaptations
to buildings and a number of responses are
referring to policy and procedures between the
university and the owners of the buildings. The
absence of lifts is mentioned a number of times.
“by having the concerned authorities such
as the municipality realise the importance of
adaptability of accommodation”
“the accommodation is not adapted even for the
minimum needs of the disabled, they are only
made for the non-disabled”
“by compelling the service providers to improve
the living conditions for them and monitor that”
“by providing special apartments for the disabled
that meet their needs”
“there are no bathrooms for the disabled”
“ there are no elevators or equipment to make
them adapted”
Most comments were positive about the need
for inclusion, of raising awareness and of clubs
being more proactive about welcoming disabled
student, but the general impression was that
this was not something which was currently
happening. This could point to a training issue
about equality of opportunity for the clubs and
activities on the university campus.
“if the clubs and activities are organised in a way
to accommodate the disabled students it should
make the inclusion process easier and more
natural, such as the activities organised by the
People with Disability Care Office”
“by giving them the chance to participate and
show the world that not only can they participate
in academic life but in social life too”
“by encouraging people in charge of these
activities to include the disabled and educating
them about the importance of inclusion”
“by including the disabled in these activities and
encouraging them to participate as wellas raising
awareness among the people in charge”
“it depends on the activity, they are mostly not
accessible”
“they should be given the chance to express
themselves and be creative at the hobbies they
like which would reflect positively upon their
psychological condition”
30
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
“they can have social activities for the disabled “
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q20 How accessible and welcoming are
the sports facilities for disabled students?
How could this be improved?
This was the most negative feedback about
equality of opportunity of all of the questions
asked in his questionnaire.
Key themes included a perception that
disabled students do not do sport and the
need for accessible facilities including
accessible buildings and adapted equipment,
specific times, sports activities and training
for disabled students.
“I never used the sports facilities, it was hard
for me to get to the lecture rooms let alone the
sports facilities”
“the ways leading to these faculties must be
accessible so they can go in the first place “
“by further inclusion and making the facilities
more adapted”
“they think the disabled cannot do sports”
“by making the sports facilities accessible”
“by having specific times for the use of the
disabled students”
“modifying the infrastructure and building
adapted sports facilities”
31
Q21 How much does a lack of money affect
the lives of disabled students?
Key themes were related to the extra costs
disabled students and their families faced,
including:
treatment relating to their impairment or
condition, adapted transport costs being more,
restricting their access to social activities as well
as inability to pay for tuition fees and books for
the course and to earn money as it is so hard for
them to get a job.
“the disabled usually need supporting equipment
which is usually rare and expensive”
“when there is a lack of money it is hard to
provide basic needs such as medicine and
transport”
“ with no money they cannot join the university
and with no education they cannot get a job and
be integrated in the society”
“it affects the treatment they get and their
inclusion in social activities”
“money talks with ordinary people but I think it
makes disabled even sings”
“ because they cannot work to make the money
they need”
Q22 What are the 3 biggest barriers to more
disabled students attending the university?
This was an open question for people to choose
for themselves the first, second and third most
important barriers for disabled students.
Finance
1st
choice
34
2nd
3rd
Total
choice choice
4
6
44
Transport
Negative attitudes
7
3
11
11
3
6
21
20
Un-adapted environment,
teaching methods
and lack of resources
3
18
9
20
Disabled students’ attitude
or psychological barrier
2
2
9
13
Lack of support
5
2
1
8
Admission requirements
1
2
1
4
Lack of information
2
0
3
5
Family support
Lack of job
0
1
1
2
0
0
1
3
Accommodation
1
0
0
1
Comments
The financial burden of
university expenses – other
than tuition.
Not enough financial
resources.
Un-adapted transportation.
The society being
unaccepting of them.
Not being encouraged by the
society.
Not being accepted by the
non-disabled students.
The society’s negative view
of the disabled.
General teaching methods
and policies.
Facilities are not adapted.
Lack of resources at the
university which prevents it
from providing equipment
such as braille books and
elevators.
Buildings and facilities.
Lack of confidence.
Social interaction with other
students.
Fear.
Feelings of inferiority.
Lack of people to help them.
There are not people who are
hired specifically to help the
disabled.
Difficulty to obtain the
university requirements.
Awareness and information.
Not knowing the facilities
provided.
Not being able to get a job unable to compete.
Lack of work chances for all
people.
32
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Barriers
The responses have been summarised and
presented in a table into key themes by
KIDS. Please note these themes were not
suggested in the questionnaire .
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
Q23 What would be the 3 most useful
improvements to support disabled
students to attend the university?
This was also an open question for people to
choose for themselves the first, second and
third most useful improvements which could
be made by the university.
The responses have been summarised and
presented in a table into key themes by KIDS.
Please note these themes were not suggested
in the questionnaire.
Useful
improvements
1st
choice
2nd
3rd
Total
choice choice
Comments
Financial support
19
8
6
33
Exempting them from tuition fees
Accessible
environment
14
12
11
37
Implementing modern technologies in
teaching like talking computers.
Less talk and more action when it comes to
providing the facilities.
Providing more elevators.
Proper accommodation of lecture rooms.
Adapting the university environment.
Providing all the tools and equipment they
need as some special educational methods
are expensive.
Providing modern teaching methods that
make it easier to deliver information.
Special parking places and classroom seats
Adapted transport
9
4
3
16
Providing special transportation to make it
easier for them.
Allocating buses to take them to university.
Training for staff
1
3
7
11
There should be lecturers who are
specialised in dealing with the disabled.
Raising awareness among staff.
To increase the awareness of the
university staff and students about the
rights of disabled especially their right for
education and the importance of including
them in the university.
Ongoing support –
psychological,
intellectual, moral
2
5
3
10
Guiding them and supporting them
psychologically and intellectually in going
through the university life.
Hiring psycho-social experts at the
university to work with the disabled.
Positive attitudes
in society
5
2
0
7
Rising awareness among students and staff
on the importance of respecting and helping
the disabled
Provision of work opportunities after graduation
2
0
2
4
Providing work opportunities – 5% of them
has to be employed in any institution
Information about
opportunity to attend
and support provided
3
1
0
4
Advertising the importance of education for
them and of joining the university
announcing the provided scholarships
Accomodation
1
2
0
3
Enhancing their living conditions
Technical support
0
2
0
2
Orientation classes
1
0
0
1
Escorts or paid help
1
1
1
3
Hiring people whose job would be to assist
the disabled students
Application of policy and
law
0
2
1
3
Putting in place a policy or amending the
existing one to do them justice.
Raiding awareness on the rights of the
disabled.
Implementing the laws.
33
Q24 Is there anything else you would like to
tell us?
28 people responded, including the following
comments:
34
Chapter 6 - Summary of responses to the questionnaire
“the disabled are human like everyone and they
are intellectual and treat people nicely so they
should be respected and not harassed because
it hurts their feelings”
“I would like to say that the People with
Disability Care Office is playing a distinct role
in the university but needs further support and
development to support the disabled morally,
financially and logistically”
“so many families deprive their disabled children
from education for financial reasons or for social
and psychological ones”
“I would like to add that it is important to have
psychological training for the disabled to help
them overcome the society’s view of them as
‘inferior’, they should be able ready to stand up
speak out and compete just like the nondisabled socially and academically”
“the disabled have the right to go on with their
graduate studies and receive scholarships and
go abroad”
“The media plays a very important role in
raising awareness on the importance of
inclusion, why not have a special channel for
the disabled ?”
“It makes no difference for the disabled
whether they go to university or not because
there as no chance for them to find real jobs
and they will end up as burdens to their
families and to the society”
“It would have been good to have questions
about the role of the families of the disabled,
other than that, the questionnaire covered
everything”
“I really wish that you help all disabled people
not only students because they need all the
help they can get”
“each type of disability must be dealt with
individually and with great attention to details”
“hiring psycho-social experts at the university
to work with the disabled, support them
socially and reinforce the inclusion”
“Wishing you all the best towards improving
and facilitating the enrolment of disabled
students in the university.”
“hope to go a head with implementing the
program, KIDS is our hope”
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 - Summary of the current situation at An-Najah
Summary of the current situation at
An-Najah
This section of the report will use the 5 key
areas to organise all of the information which
has been received.
In each key area there will be two sections.
The first section is a summary of the findings
from the visits, face to face meetings with
disabled students and staff from the university
and from the questionnaires where people
have had the opportunity to express their
personal experiences and opinions.
The second section gives a summary of the
current situation at An-Najah specifically
addressing the issues raised in the findings.
1. Information and marketing
Findings:
The university, through the OCFD is very well
known by all of the organisations which were
visited.
People who responded to the questions
7,8,10,11 and 12, overwhelming indicated that
they did know the university included disabled
student but were less sure that all disabled
children in schools knew about this.
Only half knew about all of the types of
support available to disabled students but
the majority felt the information and support
for students who were attending was helpful.
Access to the information was varied, and
equal amounts had heard from friends and
family as from talks, the internet or the radio.
The general opinion was that a wide range
of methods including brochures, workshops,
awareness campaigns, the media, the internet
and visits into schools from the university, with
disabled students as positive role models,
to talk to children would help to spread the
message.
What the university is currently doing:
An-Najah currently works directly with
numerous organisations to raise awareness
of the support available for disabled students
The university’s work with other charities and
organisations in Nablus is extensive.
35
The OCFD is one of a number of organisations
which regularly visits local schools with the
Ministry of Education to take the inclusion
message directly to staff, parents and others in
each school community.
It is also a member of the High Commission
for the Support of Disabled People, which is
headed by the Governor of Nablus and has 50
representatives from a range of services and
organisations including Ministry of Health and
Ministry of Education, members of local charities
and local media companies. They meet together
to promote the inclusion of disabled people into
wider society.
The university also has a number of partnership
links with other organisations where one
receives a service from the other without
financial return eg use of basketball courts or
sign language courses.
An-Najah has limited general information about
The People with Disability Care Office on the
university’s website; however it is embedded
within the Community Service and Continuing
Education Center information and is hard to find
as it does not currently have a direct link from
the home page.
2. Attitudes
KIDS experience of working with disabled
people repeatedly reinforces the importance of
supporting the development of understanding
positive attitudes to disability.
It is important for the university’s staff and
students to be welcoming and supportive to
disabled students.
Findings:
The attitude towards disabled people and in
particular children was something which was of
concern for all of the organisations and services
in Nablus.
All of the organisations were working with
parents to support them to move away from their
traditional role of caring for their disabled child
to realising their child’s potential to grow and
develop as an active member of the community.
The questionnaires included 5 direct questions
about the attitudes of staff and students and of
the social and sporting activities for disabled
students in questions 14,15,17,19 and 20.
The responses were diverse. They expressed
experiences of being very well supported
through to being tolerated by staff.
Some disabled students felt non disabled
students were supporting them out of duty, pity
and sympathy some had experienced
harassment.
Suggestions for improving the current situation
were to provide training and awareness raising
activities.
What the university is currently doing:
Attitudes to disabled students at the university
are intertwined with the policy and procedures
regarding the provision of support for disabled
student.
An-Najah’s provision for the support of
disabled students is a combination of paid staff
and voluntary students at the university.
Currently the university has a structure of paid
members of staff who work to support disabled
students when they register as a student at the
university.
The Dean of the Faculty, individual lecturers and
other staff who will be working with the student
will be encouraged and informally training on an
individual basis to support each student
individually.
The non-disabled students are expected to
support disabled students with much of the
practical help they need including note-taking
and typing books into a word document so it can
be translated into Braille. Much of this will be
provided by arranging voluntary support which is
provided by the university’s CSC.
This support role is a semi-structured role as
many volunteers are being accredited for the
time they spend supporting disabled students.
Some disabled students are supported by
friends who also attend the university.
Some disabled students were requesting paid
support in some of the responses. This is an
important development and should lead the way
for how support should be provided in the future.
Currently some students attend a disability
awareness training course as part of their
community service course, delivered by the
community service instructor.
3. Accessibility
Considering again the definitions of disability
and of being a disabled person in chapter 2 is a
reminder that a person who has an impairment
or condition is being disabled by the barriers
they face.
The university has a responsibility to remove
as many barriers as it can to allow disabled
students equality of access physically by
providing an accessible environment and
educationally by providing the resources,
knowledge and support to support the disabled
students learning.
Constant energy and time being used by
disabled students who have to overcome these
situations themselves decreases the energy
and time they have to be do everything else a
student at the university does.
Findings:
The responses to the questionnaire relating to
access, which were questions13, 18, 19 and 20,
reflected a recognition of the range and numbers
of barriers faced by some disabled students on a
daily basis.
They talked about issues with transport, drop
off places at the gates, the need for paid staff to
guide them around the campus and not being
able to get into some buildings e.g. the sports
hall.
Providing an accessible environment was
identified as the most useful improvement the
university could make overall.
The access tour which is in an earlier section of
this report demonstrates some of the physical
access challenges some students would face
when studying at An-Najah.
Opinions shared during a face to face meetings
with several disabled students focused more
on the lack of assistive technology, the cost of
resources and barriers to accessing some study
materials both generally at the university and
individually. They also spoke about the difficulty
in finding note-takers and people to assist
them for tests and wanting to be independently
assessed in an accessible way without the need
for another person to be involved.
36
Chapter 7 - Summary of the current situation at An-Najah
In general the most negative response was
regarding the sporting facilities on the campus.
The OFCD is constantly working in an informal
way with staff and students at the university
when they are supporting a disabled student.
Chapter 7 - Summary of the current situation at An-Najah
During the face to face meetings disabled
students also shared their experiences of
their school education system which clearly
demonstrates the inequality in the school
system.
Students spoke about support they received
from staff in school very positively, but that
there was a lack of equipment and books
they could access, which resulted in them
missing the opportunity to learn with the other
students. They also spoke about the results
of their final school exam, the Tawjihi, being
compromised and their choice of subjects to
study at the university being restricted.
Equality is about offsetting injustice or inequality
not about expecting everyone to be treated in
the same way.
What the university is currently doing:
The university has built a number of ramps
on the campuses, and some parts of the new
campus has been designed with access in
mind.
However, there are some still some
considerable challenges ahead.
Questions 9, 10 and 21 specifically asked about
the cost of attending university. This was usually
felt to be an issue for disabled students.
Many did not specifically know about the
financial support available, but there was a
strong message that lack of adequate income
or support had a significant impact and negative
affect on their lives.
The university supports the identification of
the requirements of each disabled student.
The university has a commitment to provide
some materials and resources for students
and some alternative ways for students to
receive their education are being used and
are in the process of being developed e.g.
audio or visual recordings of lectures and
e-learning.
The provision of the Computer Lab for people
with a visual impairment was set up in 2007.
New technology is now available which has
the potential to transform the lives of some
disabled students and offer them study
opportunities which are very hard for them to
access or which are currently denied to them.
Increased investment is also simply needed to
enable the computer lab to meet the demands
of an increasing number of students attending
the university.
The current process for taking exams and
tests is inflexible and relies on providing
volunteers to assist disabled students, rather
than finding alternative more accessible
methods of assessment.
This barrier to allowing equality of opportunity
to access tests and exams in a more suitable
way is also present in the admissions system
which currently is again being adhered to in
the same way for everyone.
37
4. Funding
Families who have a disabled child are often
amongst the poorest in any society.
Findings:
The organisations and services working in
Nablus are offering virtually free services to
most families of disabled children they work
with, including transport in some cases.
The experience of being a disabled person
meant that for many they faced extra costs such
as paying for treatment, and experienced higher
costs for transport.
They were often unable to get jobs themselves.
In the face to face meetings disabled students
related the difficulties they face in buying books,
meeting transport costs.
Some spoke about having to change courses
due to higher course costs as they had been
disadvantaged in school education and received
lower grades in their final exam.
All were receiving at least one scholarship to
help pay for their tuition costs.
One also had money from an individual donor
another was also sponsored by a company.
What the university is currently doing:
Since November 2010 the university has been
providing some financial support of up to 50%
of disabled student’s tuition fees.
These ‘scholarships’ for disabled students, are
also available for students whose father is
disabled and are available from the university’s
Department of Finance.
This scheme is financed by local institutions and
businesses in Nablus and other cities in
Palestine yearly and is not secure.
All students are able to apply for loans and
some individual students receive additional
funding and support ‘in kind’, depending upon
their circumstances.
KIDS was not aware of any financial support
for disabled students to buy specific pieces of
equipment e.g. assistive technology or extra
travel costs. Provision for these costs could help
to reduce the barriers experienced by disabled
students and enable them to be less dependent
on voluntary support and enable them to receive
more of their education on an equal basis.
5. Policy and procedures
When looking to develop the provision at the
university for the inclusion for disabled students,
the policies and procedures will also need to
be revised or new ones created to ensure the
underpinning infrastructure will support the long
term vision.
The policies and procedures should include
mainstream inclusive provision and specific
provision for disabled students.
Findings:
People’s experiences of policies and procedures
at the university are through the more tangible
processes and practises which are taking place.
It seems there is a natural development
beginning to happen at the university, which is
being led by disabled students.
The university will need to change in order to
support this positive and progressive movement
of more confident and educated disabled
students.
There are several signs that disabled students
are looking for a change to take place in the way
they receive support, within the responses to the
questionnaire and the face to face meetings with
disabled students.
Currently there is a mixture of entitlement and
charitable support being offered at the university.
The university also currently provides support in
the form of volunteers, using their CSC.
Some disabled students have suggested on a
number of occasions during the report that they
would like paid support and the opportunity to
buy their own resources.
Disabled students have also commented that
they felt help is being given out of pity and duty
from some people. These comments combine to
signal a development in thinking.
Some disabled students are beginning to realise
they have rights and want a systemic change in
the way support is provided for them.
What the university is currently doing:
Access to university policy documentation was
not possible due to the difference in languages
used, and time restrictions of the project.
The university website states that amongst
its values are ‘integration’ and ‘equal
opportunities’.
The People with Disability Care Office (OCDP)
represents the university’s views and position
regarding the inclusion of disabled students at
An Najah.
The OCFD works in a number of ways with
other organisations in the community of Nablus
to support the rights of disabled people.
The OCFD’s role is wide ranging and although
supported by other departments within the
university, it needs to expand in size. The need
to expand is partly to meet the increased volume
of work as more disabled students come to
the university. and also to meet the increased
volume and range of development work which
would be necessary, if the recommendations
from this report are accepted and system
change is needed.
The university is an important institution in
Nablus. It is already working to push forward
the rights of disabled children and young
people, especially their right to education and
it should continue to drive this agenda forward
in the next part of it’s development to become
an even more inclusive university, with the full
participation of disabled students.
38
Chapter 7 - Summary of the current situation at An-Najah
Disabled students also have a special
concession which allows them to receive more
than one scholarship. The receipt of financial
and other support varied from student to student
but each student was benefitting from some
support.
However, it seemed that some of the support
was available without a clear, transparent and
dependable system being in place.
Students are entitled to some financial support
in the form of scholarships, with defined criteria
to ‘qualify’. However there are also a number of
other financial support systems which are not so
well defined and appear to be dependent upon
how subjectively ‘needy’ a person is rather than
meeting a transparent set of criteria.
Chapter 8
Recommendations and actions
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
This report has brought together the
information KIDS has researched and
acquired through the life of the project.
KIDS recognises there are many differences
between the culture, education system and
societal views of disabled people in Nablus
compared with England.
It also recognises there are other constraints
and pressures in Nablus due to the current
political situation.
KIDS recognises the work which is
already taking place and many of the
recommendations and actions suggested will
build on existing good practise.
Numbers of disabled students attending the
university are increasing rapidly, and should
continue to do so.
A robust infrastructure should be put in place
to prepare and to further develop the quality
of support provided at the university which
would otherwise be threatened by putting
existing services and support under too much
strain.
There are a number of priorities which
emerged during the project which will also
emerge within the recommendations and
actions proposed. These priorities are as
follows:
1 - Participation: disabled people, including
disabled students should be consulted and
actively involved.
2 - Funding: more reliable funding streams
and change in processes for individuals to
receive realistic amounts they can use to
purchase resources/support and the university
can use to update technology, invest in and
change of admissions processes, assignment
completion, testing and exam arrangements
to further offset disadvantage.
39
3 - Increased staffing levels at the OCFD: a
larger paid team of staff at the OCFD, supported
by an even wider range of departments at the
university will need to be involved to support
both the development of the policy and of the
practical delivery of the recommendations and
actions of this report – inclusion is everybody’s
business.
4 - Attitude change: changing the attitude of
the university community cannot be
successful if attempted in isolation and must
build on the existing joint working commitments
and involvement of other services and
organisations, expanding outreach work and
activities to encourage the community onto each
campus and training opportunities within the
university and for the community.
5 - Quality not quantity of service provision:
staffing levels, staff training and support will
improve the quality of all services supporting
disabled children and young people, the
university could play a leading role in
developing a co-ordinated plan to acquire joint
specialist training, for services supporting
disabled children, which will support the need
for early assessment and intervention services
to support life long learning from birth.
Recommendation 1:
Invest in developing a varied
information and marketing campaign
Disabled students will only come to the
university if they know it is a possibility for them.
Equality of opportunity to apply relies on this
knowledge.
Families’ aspirations for their disabled children
will be raised if they know access to higher
education is possible.
Society, including the staff in school, may also
be more supportive of disabled children’s
aspirations if they know the university can
continue to support the young person in higher
education.
The content of the information is crucial,
needing to convey a positive but realistic view of
the educational opportunities available together
with information about the provision of support
at the university.
Disabled students should be fully involved in
development and delivery.
Recommendation 2:
Support the development of positive
attitudes towards disabled students
In order to develop an inclusive community for
all students at the university an ethos of mutual
respect and understanding should be expected.
Disabled students have a right under Palestinian
Law to be educated and to enjoy every aspect
of university life.
Disabled students should be able to expect to
be treated equally well by paid academic or nonacademic staff, non-disabled students,
volunteers providing support as part of their
voluntary service and people who provide sports
/ social or other university activities.
Provision of support for each disabled student
relies firstly on the individual understanding that
they are recognised as a disabled person and
secondly choosing to reveal this information to
the university.
The earlier that is done, the better for both the
student and the university support services.
Students may be more encouraged to do this if
there was more information available about the
process and support for them.
Information about the support available for
disabled students should be easily available
as a pack of information both for staff and for
disabled students.
Personal experiences of people’s attitudes
towards disabled students is inevitably
subjective.
Attitudinal change should be addressed with
a positive educational delivery of formal and
informal training. This should be in the form of
challenging negative perceptions, developing
better understanding, confidence and skills and
demonstrating ‘good practise’.
It can also be encouraged and supported by
the university delivering a clear message that
‘disabled students are expected and welcomed
here’ by providing an accessible environment
and resources. This will be addressed in the
next recommendation.
Attitudinal change at the university should be
driven by disabled students.
Disabled people, preferably the students,
should always be fully involved in developing
and delivering disability awareness or disability
equality training although they can be supported
by non-disabled people.
Their participation should also be recompensed
financially.
Attitudinal change within the wider community is
already being addressed by outreach work and
should continue and expand, this is addressed
in recommendation 5.
40
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
Actions:
• Audit existing university practice
• Review and revise existing content e.g.
information about the Palestinian Disability
Law support attitudinal change in society
• Review and revise existing good practice
methods e.g. workshops
• Build on existing partnership work by
including disabled students (past or present)
in the development and joint presentations
e.g. visiting schools, communities,
• Use new content e.g. case studies, specific
details of the range of support including
financial and social support
• Use new methods on the university campus
and within the local communities and schools
e.g. use of social media, using DVD’s,
Youtube, films on the website, training days,
workshops, seminars, inviting families to the
university for open days, themed events,
brochures, radio
• Produce an information pack about coming
to the university including detailed
information about the admissions process,
the costs of going to university including
tuition fees, books and extra resources for
particular subjects, all financial support
available, university policy on confidentiality
and contact details for more information, to
be widely distributed e.g. to public places,
sent out on request
• Produce and /or make accessible as much
information as possible in a range of formats
e.g. Braille, audio, film with subtitles, large
print, symbols
• Develop an accessible university website
with a specific tab for disabled students to
get information
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
Actions:
• Develop a team of people, including
disabled people, to assess existing
training and plan and deliver face to face
disability training at the university (and for
other organisations and services), taking
into account the experiences expressed
in this report and any further ‘audit’ of
personal experiences. Involve external
agencies if it would be beneficial or use
suggested resources in this report
• Provide compulsory disability training for
all staff on a yearly basis
• Make available / provide compulsory
disability training for all students
• Provide staff with a pack of information
about supporting disabled students
with pack of information including what
support is available financially, socially
and academically, confidentiality and
complaints policies and procedures and
contact numbers
• Provide a clear, transparent information
pack developed for new students including
information contained in the staff pack
plus information about the admissions
process and subsequent support and
confidentiality of information. Information
should be available on the website and in
a variety of formats
• Provide staff training in disability
awareness and equality
• Provide regular support meetings for staff
to discuss ideas, concerns or issues which
arise when supporting disabled students
and to challenge intimidation or bullying of
disabled students
• Support disabled students to be
requested, encouraged and supported
to form a campaigning and consultation
group to work with the university to
develop equality of opportunities
Recommendation 3:
Develop an accessible environment
Creating an inclusive community at the
university necessitates a commitment to
creating an accessible environment for
disabled students, following universal
design principles. Provision of an accessible
environment gives a clear message to
disabled and non-disabled students that
disabled students are expected and welcomed by the university.
41
The fundamental requirement for inclusion is the
need for the university to provide an
environment and resources which allow equal
participation for disabled students alongside
non-disabled students.
Provision of an accessible environment includes
the physical access to and around each campus
as well as getting into and around the buildings.
It also includes equality of opportunity to access
learning and all other aspects of university life,
by supplying the resources and support staff for
each disabled student according to their
individual needs and requirements.
Actions:
• Carry out full access audit by or with
disabled students with clear actions and
timescales, of transport, signage and
access into and around each campus and
into and around each building.
Physical access
• Carry out the plan of changes to the
environment
• Work with appropriate organisations or
services to support the provision of
accessible transport
• Provide clearly marked accessible, drop off
points and access routes onto each campus
and accessible parking slots on each campus
• Provide maps and signage to guide disabled
students around each campus and each
building, with due regard to positioning,
formats and height
• Provide orientation guides for new students
especially, preferably other disabled students
• Provide accessible routes into all buildings at
the main entrance or clearly mark the route
to and location of the alternative entrance
• Provide lifts in all new buildings and in as
many existing buildings as possible
• Provide flexible space and appropriate
resources in university rooms e.g. hearing
loops to support access
• Provide at least one fully accessible toilet/
bathroom/changing facility on each campus
and an additional number of accessible
toilets on each campus
Recommendation 4:
Secure more financial support
Fundamental to the provision of access to
equality of education for disabled students is the
reliance of adequate, reliable and sustainable
funding.
This is needed to ensure disabled students are
able to receive a realistic amount to meet their
individual educational and access needs and to
provide good quality services.
Identification of finance as the biggest barrier
to accessing university is a refection of the
personal financial situation disabled students
and their families find themselves in. They and
their families are recognised as being some of
the poorest in the society with extra expenses
and hurdles other people do not generally
encounter e.g. additional medical costs, and
inability to find a job. Providing funds to offset
this disadvantage should be a priority for the
university.
There is a need for a revised transparent, fair
and rights based assessment of need of each
student, supported by at least one reliable fund,
providing an entitlement for disabled students to
be able to purchase the resources and support
they require and to afford their tuition fees.
University services need to be more
comprehensively funded so the general service
provision is able to support their individual needs
through educational, psycho-social support
and suitable assistive technology or newly
developed alternative arrangements to support
them to receive their education and to study and
complete their course assessment work on an
equal basis.
Actions:
• Allocate more funding and resources to
support the growing numbers of disabled
students who are wanting to come to
university
• Identify two separate areas of funding to
develop both the university’s support and to
meet the needs of the individual
• Locate more sources of funding which will
support the university’s committed funds and
are reliable and sustainable for the future
42
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
Learning and university life
• Provide flexible admissions, study and
testing processes offering alternative
methods e.g. entry routes to study at the
university to allow entry with lower entry
marks if student has a proven capability,
using an alternative method of assessment
such as attending and passing additional
study and subject skills courses
• Continue to support lecturers to make their
subjects accessible by providing adapted
resources and locations as required to meet
students individual requirements
• Provide an increased number of dedicated
trained staff to provide financial, psychosocial and educational support to provide
consistent individualised support when
required
• Provide an increased number of dedicated
trained staff to be available as non-medical
support staff to provide consistent
individualised support when required e.g.
sign language interpreters, note takers,
support in exams
• Update and expand the facilities provided at
the computer lab for students with a visual
impairment or replace with more up to date
equipment and resources researched and
requested by the staff and students working
and using these facilities e.g. Braille sense
note takers
• Provide a library of up to date assistive
technology for students to trial before
choosing which meets their individual
requirements
• Provide training for disabled students in how
to use assistive technology which is available
at the university
• Provide a wider range of books and lectures
in alternative formats e.g. Braille, audio,
audio-visual formats
• Encourage more lecturers to provide a
more consistent reading list, with as many
documents supplied as a word document
or already available in braille, to allow more
students easier and faster access to
learning materials
• Support all sports and social clubs and
activities to provide accessible opportunities
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
Actions (cont):
• Develop a new system which is open,
fair and transparent, to complement the
existing one to assess the extra cost to
each disabled student on an individual
basis
• Develop a system of recompense for
disabled students time when involved in
participation and training work
Recommendation 5:
Develop robust policies and
procedures
This section is concerned with developing
the infrastructure to underpin all of the
other areas which have been singled out
throughout the report, plus some more which
are overarching.
Making the university an inclusive community
relies not only on the practicalities of provision
of services and support but also upon a
robustness of a set of policies and procedures
which are carefully formulated with disabled
students.
These policies and procedures need to reflect
the development changes which have been
identified due to the findings of this report,
the growth in the number of disabled students
wanting to attend university, the students
expectations which have grown alongside the
positive attitudinal changes which are taking
place in the city, and the experiences the
university has accumulated with supporting
disabled students over the last few years.
The importance of joint working and
development of the education system and
of all services for disabled children and their
families should also be considered as part
of the responsibility of the university if it is
fully committed to the equality of access to
university study and should be included in the
strategic plan and policies.
Equality of opportunity for disabled children
starts from developing their potential from
birth. Quality services which have specialists
who are skilled in early detection, diagnosis,
assessment and provision for disabled
children will be able to support them to
develop their full potential. They will also be
able to work with families to support them
emotionally and to encourage and enable
43 their children to succeed.
Similarly the education system is encouraging
disabled children to enter an inclusive
mainstream school.
The numbers entering the school is increasing
rapidly.
Encouraging and supporting the development
from an integrated to a quality inclusive
education system backed by suitably trained
teachers and support staff and the involvement
of specialist services when required, will be
required to support the children to develop to
their full potential and should be included in he
policy documents.
All of the policies and procedures should be
written in consultation with disabled people
(preferably students) and with an inclusive
university community in mind, but additional
specific documents concerning disabled
students will be necessary to ensure that all
areas of development will be fully considered,
implemented, monitored, reviewed and revised
as necessary to support further development
over time.
Actions:
• Formulate a working group to consider and
decide how the policies and procedures will
support the development of the university
as an inclusive community by taking into
account the needs of disabled students as
well as supporting the people working and
studying with them.
This is not a fully comprehensive list, but as a
minimum the following policies and procedures
should be reviewed, developed or devised to
support the development of:
• a clear commitment to equality of opportunity
• continued movement to a rights based model
of receipt of support information and
marketing of support services
• joint working with members of the High
Commission for the Support of Disabled
People to cascade good practice e.g.
individualised support to schools
• flexible processes to offset unfair
disadvantages, admissions offering
alternative entry routes to study at the
university and consideration of entry with
lower entry marks if capability is proved
using an alternative method, opportunity to
attending and passing additional study and
subject skills courses
In summary
The recommendations and actions are
intentionally comprehensive to support the
university in the detailed decision making about
their priorities, time scales, responsibilities,
monitoring and evaluation methods and the
available resources and future funding which will
be needed. Throughout this project KIDS
developed, produced and used a set of self
assessment checklists, which can be found in
Appendix 1. They utilise the 5 key areas
identified in the introduction of this report and
contain a number of suggestions of the sort of
questions which should be asked to produce a
baseline.
The checklists are not a comprehensive or
complete list of what should be considered as it
is crucial for the university to formulate its own
system or apply these suggestions to an
existing system of their own.
However, the whole process should be
carried out with the full participation of
disabled students, from which the university
can formulate and plan based on each of
these recommendations.
Conclusion
Inclusion is a journey.
An-Najah National University committed to this
journey years ago when it decided to invest in
resources, staffing and time to support disabled
students.
However, this report has demonstrated that the
university now needs a great deal of further
investment in order to move faster towards
becoming a flagship for other educational establishments in Palestine.
KIDS has provided far reaching
recommendations, that if accepted and acted
upon will support the development of a quality
led expansion of inclusive educational
opportunities at the university and in the local
schools.
The challenge for the university should not be
underestimated, but the university has shown a
clear commitment to change by being fully supportive of this project.
This commitment to change needs to be
translated into the planning and development of
new policies and procedures with the full
participation of disabled students.
It also needs to be translated into finding the
financial resources to better equip the university
to overcome the attitudinal and accessibility
barriers to inclusion, which are a daily challenge
for some disabled students at the university.
The university’s Welcome Book includes the
motto ‘We challenge the present to change the
future’.
KIDS has welcomed the opportunity to work with
the university and hopes this report will be
accepted as a supportive challenge to the
current provision and will be used as a catalyst
in securing the resources which are needed to
change the future.
44
Chapter 8 - Recommendations and actions
• outreach work including joint outreach work
with other organisations to support societal
attitude change and increased awareness
of children’s development potential from birth
upwards
• effective confidential assessment processes
to identify individual requirements
• effective, confidential processes to share
relevant information about individual’s needs
as required
• commitment to meet each student’s
individual requirements, including provision
of resources and specifying regular formal
evaluation and review dates, in addition to
informal communication
• continuous programme of investment in new
assistive technology
• co-ordinated team of support staff
• expansion of existing good practise
• staff and student training and support
• accessible environments
• adoption of universal design principles
• accessible transport systems to all campuses
and between campuses
• confidentiality
• complaints
• comprehensive support services from birth
including health, education and psychosocial
• securing sustainable funding internally and
externally from a range of sources, developing
donor relationships
• careers advice, and development of skills to
secure a job
References and Useful Resources
References:
1. Palestinian Disability Law
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Regions/MENA/PalestinianDisLaw.pdf
2. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/
3. World Health Organisation ‘World Report on Disability’
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2011/WHO_NMH_VIP_11.01_eng.pdf?ua=1
References and Useful Resources
4. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.unicef.org/crc/
5. Enabling Education Network
http://www.eenet.org.uk/about.php
6. The People with Disability Care Office ‘About Us’
http://www.najah.edu/page/4087
7. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/about.shtml
8. University of Leeds
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/
9. The University of Leeds ‘Access Agreement 2013-2014’
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/file/867/
10. Durham University
https://www.dur.ac.uk/
11. Trailblazers Report ‘University Challenge 2014’
http://www.mdctrailblazers.org/assets/0000/9417/UniversityChallenge2013_WEB.pdf
12. The Equality Act 2010
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
Useful Resources:
Aqrouq, S. Attitudes of Families with Disabled Children towards their children and professionals
http://www.najah.edu/page/3618
Save the Children, UK. See Me, Hear Me (2009)
Miles, S. Creating Conversations: The evolution of the Enabling Education Network
Stone, E. (ed.). Disability and Development: Learning from action and research on
disability in the majority world. Leeds: The Disability Press (1999)
Coleridge, P. Disability, Liberation, and Development. Oxfam Publications (1993)
Mencap Changing Places website with information about the specifications expected for an
accessible changing room/toilet in the UK
http://www.changing-places.org/
The University of Leeds Disability Archive
http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/
45
Appendix 1
1. Information and Marketing Checklist
What formats do you provide information in?
no
sometimes
yes
Print
Large print
Audio
Audio-visual
Braille
Symbols
Bright font against
dark backgrounds
Different coloured
paper for printing
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
How do people find out about the support the university offers for disabled students?
no sometimes yes evidence
Website
Viewing available in variety of formats?
Content - info about access, accommodation
DVD- current case studies /stories
Circulated to schools, places young
people+families meet
Social media/Radio/ television/
Outreach -disabled students to visit their
schools with other uni staff?
Events at the uni for children and families/young
people?
Open days/workshops/play events
Information packs for prospective
students/families in suitable format including :
Tuition fees
Scholarships
Psycho-social support
OCFD
Individualised support
Resources available
Palestinian disability law
evidence
How can people access this information about your service?
no
sometimes
yes evidence
Website
E-mail
Phone
Face-to-face
Brochures
Group meetings
Automated
information
46
2. Attitudinal Checklist
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
Are all staff aware that the university
has a policy of inclusion of disabled
students?
Are staff attending disability
awareness and /or equality training
on a yearly basis – including the
meaning of inclusion and
understanding the social model of
disability?
Do staff have on-going support as
and when needed from other staff
and /or the OCFD regarding
supporting disabled studnets?
Is there an information pack for staff?
Including support services,
Palestinian Disability Law to help
them in their role
Are non-disabled students being
encouraged to attend disability
awareness training – including the
meaning of inclusion and
understanding the social model of
disability?
Are all staff members approachable
and accepting of their support role or
offered more support to help them?
Would staff feel confident to assist
someone if required?
Are staff aware of and able to direct
disabled students to the support
services and resources available to
disabled students
Are staff confident, adaptable and
able to change their
communication styles?
Are teaching staff able to be creative
and consider how to adapt their
teaching styles according to an
individual’s needs? Using adaptive
technology and adapting resources if
required?
Do the university staff encourage and
support non-disabled students to
support disabled students if disabled
students identify they need help?
Are all staff supporting disabled
children in schools, and students at
the university to have high
aspirations for their future.
47
no
sometimes
yes
evidence
i.e. talk clearly, slowly to repeat in
formation
3. Accessible Environments Checklist
Access to the campus
no
sometimes
yes evidence
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
Is there accessible transport?
Are there accessible drop off points near
entrances?
Do you have designated accessible parking
spaces?
Are there accessible entrances or clear
information directing to the nearest accessible
entrance?
Are there trained staff available to support
students when they arrive, as required?
Information signs and notices around the campus and on buildings
no sometimes yes
evidence
Is there enough signage to support
students to find their way around
the campuses?
Are the signs or notices low enough
for all to read?
Are the signs or notices in braille?
Do the signs or notices have
symbols as well as words?
Is there an accessible map of the
whole site?
Access into the building
Is your entrance well lit and clearly
defined?
If the accessible entrance is not at
the main entrance is it signposted
appropriately?
Do you have ramps into all buildings,
with handrails at 2 levels?
If the ramps are portable - are all staff
trained to use them?
Are your doors automatic or easy to
open? If not, is there a way to signal
for help to access the building?
Are the entrances clear of
equipment/furniture that could
obstruct access, like plant pots
outside of the entrance
or tables/chairs in reception?
no
sometimes
yes
evidence
48
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
Access inside and around the building
Where is furniture placed? Is there enough
room for wheelchair users to manoeuvre and to
sit with others in all areas, including the
cafeteria, lecture rooms and library?
Are there things that may obstruct a person
from moving around the buildings? Eg changes
in levels which are not marked, steps
Are there ways to find out what departments
are in each building?
Are reception counters at two heights?
Is there an accessible toilet/bathroom/changing
facility?
- How many are there?
- Are they easily found?
- Is they always open?
- If not who has the key?
- Is it kept clean and empty – or is it used for
another purpose i.e., storage?
Is there more than 1 floor in the building – if so,
Is there a lift?
- Where is it situated?
- Does it have tactile and audible signals?
- What is the plan if the lift breaks down?
Are there a number of additional accessible
toilets on each campus, clearly signposted?
Is there at least one fully accessible toilet on
each campus, clearly signposted?
no
Access to learning and university life
no sometimes
Is there a robust and clear method
to assess each student’s
individual requirements for access
to education, social life, sport and
accommodation?
Are each student’s individual
requirements for inclusion in
education, social life, sport and
accommodation being met
including specific resources and
non- medical support staff?
Are there a range of methods and
teaching resources available for
students according to their
individual requirements?
Are private study rooms available
for, and known about by
individuals who require them?
49
sometimes yes
evidence
yes evidence
Students actively engaged with
university life, appropriate resources,
arrangements for exams and
assignments e.g. extended deadlines for
work and extended loan of library books
e.g. sign language interpreters,
academic note takers, audio or
audio/visual recordings, copies of
session notes for lectures and seminars,
transcriptions available, practical
assistance provided as required,
resources provided in Braille in a timely
manner
Is adaptive technology available to
support individual student’s
learning? Is there money available
to buy students items they
require? Is there a loan service?
Are support services easily
available and easily identified and
used by disabled students?
Including advocacy services if
required?
Is the university supporting
disabled students to form support
networks of their own and to
identify and use other support
networks available to them?
circle of friends
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
4. Financial Support Checklist
no
Is there a clear and transparent system for students
to apply for financial support whilst the university?
Are there a range of support grants or loans for
tuition, purchasing resources or assistive
technology, for additional needs which are over and
above the non-disabled students needs?
Are there ‘hardship’ grants available for any student
who needs extra support to buy basic needs eg
food, clothing
sometimes
yes
evidence
5. Policies and Procedures Checklist
no
working
towards
yes
evidence
Admissions
Do the university admissions policy and initial
information resources for students include
information about the support available for
disabled students?
Does the university admissions policy allow for
some flexibility for disabled students who want to
apply to the university?
Individualised support for students
Do the university policies and procedures
demonstrate a clear commitment to equality of
opportunity and access for disabled students,
including addressing staff training and providing
an accessible environment?
Are there effective assessment procedures to
establish each disabled student’s individual
requirements?
e.g. accessible buildings,
equal access to educational
resources, access to lecture
rooms, graduation
ceremonies
50
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
Is there a commitment in policy and procedure to
meeting the student’s specific requirements –
reflected in continual development of internal
documentation showing a commitment to
inclusion and funding to develop and supply
resources?
Is there a policy to match the size and scope of
the services available to disabled students to
meet the increasing numbers of disabled
students at the university?
Are there procedures in place to disseminate
relevant information to support the disabled
student’s learning, as necessary, to relevant
members of staff?
Is there a policy regarding confidentiality and
methods of disseminating written information
about each disabled student’s social, emotional
and personal needs prepared with each disabled
student and shared appropriately with staff and
resources available to support them?
Is there a policy for at least one staff member,
with specific responsibility for supporting the
inclusion of disabled students, to be named and
known in each faculty/department?
Access to library facilities –
e.g. extended loan periods
Provision of appropriate
electronic aids
e.g. meeting with student,
one page profiles
Staff training and support
Is there policy and a procedure for two way
communication between each department and
The People with Disability Care Office?
Is there policy and a procedure for two way
communication to evaluate and review support
provided, between disabled students and staff
who work with them on an individual level and for
disabled students as a whole?
Is there a commitment in policy and procedure to
provide and enforce staff to attend disability
awareness and equality traning on a yearly
basis?
Is there a commitment in policy for continuous
professional and personal development for all
staff, with opportunities to reflect on their own
attitudinal awareness of disablism and other
equality and diversity issues?
Does policy support staff job descriptions and
roles to include an expectation that staff will
support student’s specific learning requirements?
Does policy support the development of
information packs for all staff supporting disabled
students?
Educational support
Do policies and procedures support individual
arrangements for students to complete course
work, assignments, tests and taking exams
independently according to their individual
requirements?
51
e.g. resources, private
rooms, breaks offered,
longer time to complete
exam, oral alternatives,
extended deadlines,
Is there a policy to plan to further develop
inclusive policies, procedures and practises and
how to do this, including methods of monitoring
and evaluation?
Is there a policy to support disabled and nondisabled staff and students from all areas of the
university to contribute to the continual
monitoring, evaluation, development and
implementation of inclusive policy and practise for
all aspects of disabled students lives?
Appendix 1 - Self Assessment Checklists
Participation
Are there clear confidentiality policies and
procedures for sharing information about disabled
students?
Are there clear policies and procedures for
disabled students to make a complaint?
Transport
Does the university have a policy to address the
need to support disabled students to attend
university ie looking at accessible methods of
transport and finance to support their use of the
transport available to them ?
Funding
Does the university have a commitment in policy,
to look for a wider range of sustainable and
reliable funding sources, to support the provision
of up to date resources at the university and for
individual students needs and requirements?
Does the university have a policy and procedures
in place to consistently offer disabled students
career and job advice and support?
52
Appendix 2
An-Najah Child Institute (ACI)
ACI is a specialized institute belonging to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
University/ANU. It aims to provide quality diagnosis and management services to children with
developmental disorders and training to health and education professionals through integrating
academic training, research and clinical services.
Appendix 2 - An-Najah Child Institute
The institute will target Palestinian Children suffering from -but not limited to- autism and its related
disorders, ADD/ADHD, immature neurological development; speech and communication disorders,
sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities and school avoidance.
Vision:
The vision is to lead the fields of early childhood development and special education to help build an
inclusive society for children of all abilities
Mission:
Our mission is to improve the quality of life for children of all abilities through excellence in education,
research, health care, advocacy and support.
Objectives:
ACI is a multidisciplinary institute that will foster collaborative initiatives and multidisciplinary efforts
aiming to:
 Offer an early detection and diagnostic services to children with developmental disorders.
 Development of qualified clinical expertise, skills and competence in the care of children with
child developmental disorders(developmental pediatrics).
 Create a supportive learning environment that stimulates children physically, intellectually,
socially and emotionally.
 Training of health care workers and special educators in relation to child developmental
disorders.
 Actively contribute to social change preventive interventions that improve the health of children
with developmental disorders.
 Plan and conduct research in relation to child developmental disorders.
53
The institute is composed of 3 units:
 The clinical services unit that aims to early assess, diagnose, and manage children with
developmental disorders according to the best possible standards.
 The kindergarten unit that aims to be a pilot for providing special education to selected
children with developmental disorders according to the best international standards and in
response to the local cultural needs.
 Training and research Unit that aims to train wide range of health professional (Paediatrician,
Appendix 2 - An-Najah Child Institute
in order to prepare multidisciplinary team capable of providing best care and education to
children with developmental disorders. In addition, this unit aims to conduct relevant research
that would contribute to knowledge, care, and prevention of child developmental disorders in
Palestine and the region.
Training will be in two forms:
1. Short term training for ACI staff, MDs, clinical psychologist, special educators, occupational
therapists, etc and will be in the form of short courses
a. Training of clinic staff: such as speech and language pathologist, physiotherapist and
occupational therapist each according to his needs.
b. Training of KG staff: teachers and assistants who will work at the centere’s KG will need
training by a special education specialist using the available local and regional expertise in
addition to LNF as needed.
c. Training of MDs (general practice/ family medicine doctors) from all parts of West bank: this
will be a short term rotation at the centre in addition to a learning module about child
developmental disorders. This aims to help doctors in general practice to be aware of such
problems and early detect and refer patients to the center for appropriate care.
d. Training of parents, educators and the community: Once the centre becomes established and
functioning, it will be an important source for awareness and training to the educators in
general in, addition to the parents and community at large
2. Long term training: (Developmental pediatrics fellowship training): A 1-2 pediatricians will
be offered a two year fellowship program outside the country in child developmental disorders.
These candidates will be part of the ACI team as soon they finish their training
54
An Najah Child Institute
SERVICES FOR THE PATIENT
The Clinic Unit will be operative for the services of the patients every working day from 9.00 to 15.00. and the
services will be divided into assessment, clinical diagnosis, and intervention.
The operating process provides, therefore, at least 2 meetings with the family (one for intake and one for
restitution), and a meeting where possible, with operators professionally involved in the work with the child.
Operative system
Appendix 2 - An-Najah Child Institute
1- Referrals to the center will be made either by parents or school teachers, trough a referral form
designed for this purpose.
2- Intake: Full detailed information is gathered by the assessment specialist from the parents according to
the case history form (case history, demographical data collection, anamnesis, clinical reports)
3- The team of specialist including the assessment specialist, speech and language pathologist,
occupational therapist, clinical psychologist and special educator all meets to decide on the
assessment procedures to be taken.
4- The assessment of aspects of behaviour, such as impaired social interaction; alteration of verbal and
non-verbal repertoire of interests and activities restricted or stereotyped;
5- The assessment psychomotor abilities as an approach particularly useful for evaluate the systems of
interaction and integration of the various experiences perceptual, motor, emotional and social skills of
the child.
6- The assessment of cognitive and neuropsychological profile that implicates, for each child, the
calculation of IQ total and / or quotient of Global Development made by the Wechsler scales and test
administration for specific functions: attention, executive functions, memory, visual-perceptual, motor
and praxis skills.
7- The restitution. At the completion of the diagnostic clinical relationship, it is stretched a conclusive
diagnosis, the behavioural profile and proposed treatment, individual educational plan or eventual
review of the rehabilitation project, a full confidential psycho educational report is written about the
child.
8- The final meeting with parents. This phase involves the communication of the diagnosis, with
indications on possible developments in a long term, the panorama of the therapeutic approaches, and
the characteristics of the "personalized" therapy. This will be followed, when possible, by a meeting
extended to the paediatrician, the child neuropsychiatry and the representatives of the centres of
rehabilitation and the school staff.
9- When communicating the diagnosis to the parents, is proposed referring to the territorial structures of
rehabilitation or to the rehabilitation special class of the Institute (class D).
Rehabilitation Class
Class D is a Special Education class that is supervised by the clinics and serviced by all available
specialists at ACI.
The class provides educational and rehabilitation services to persons (from early childhood to adult age 615 years old) who are diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)
In rehabilitation class we aim at providing intervention services and rehabilitation programs to enable
children to adjust to different environments and to be empowered to live a meaningful life, while being able
to participate in their communities at large.
We apply a variety of different learning strategies and techniques from selected teaching approaches and
learning principles that are evidence-based treatments.The Individualized Intervention Programs for our
student (IIP) and Individual Education Plans (IEP) are based on: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Picture
Communication System (PECS), Speech and Language Therapy( SL), Occupational Therapy (OT),
Sensory Integration (SI), Special Education Strategies for ADHA, ADD, Dyslexia and other language
Disabilities(LD)
55
Appendix 3
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
The following are the complete answers to all open questions in the survey
found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/an-najahsurvey
3. How are you involved with the university?
Other (please specify)
 I have a diploma
 activist and volunteer working with the disabled
 journalist
 employee for the government x2
 Administrative worker / Human resources
 I am an employee
 I work at a disabled rehabilitation center
 Head of An-Najah Child Institute
 An-Najah graduate x6
 Dean
 Teaching assistant
 Volunteer and supporter of people with special needs
7. Did you know that disabled students can join the university?
If yes, how and where did you know about the university inclusion policy?
 from the radio, brochures, some disabled acquaintances who went to the university and from
the head of the student council
 from people's talk about the services provided by the university and how they deal with the
disabled
 from disabled people who had gone to the university
 from disabled graduates
 from disabled people who were students before me
 from former students I know from the social media
 from the internet
 from the school I went to
 from the general union for the Disabled
 meetings and seminars
 from the information we were given at the private school( for the blind) I was in
 from radio shows on the stations concerned with disability issues
 from the school subject's that talked about the education of the disabled
 from the university's publications and announcements
 from family and school
 from the Young Men's Christian Association YMCA – Nablus
 I knew from a girl who was training in a school with me, she had a physical disability and still
went to university
 it is only normal to include them
 from the university's announcements
 I have seen examples of disabled students in the university
 by asking the concerned persons
 from the Director of the "The People with Disability Care Office" x2
 from the University's website
 I did know that people with physical and visual impairment are integrated
 from my father who suffers from physical disability
56
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 through a workshop that was held by the People with Disability Care Office and the Union of
the Disabled
 I knew by asking people who work at the university
 my own assumption, as I see disabled people who are educated and have degrees
 from friends and relatives x 2
 no particular source
 I do see this
 from my older sister who studied when she was a student at the university and a volunteer
 include the person who work in the university
 University announcements and Publications
 when I saw some students with disabled attend courses in the university
 through the Ads of university
 from the university website
 from the Website of the University and my readings
8. Do disabled students in schools know it is possible for them to go to the university?
How could this be improved?
 through awareness campaigns in the schools
 through the school curricula and extracurricular activities
 by educating the children and preparing them for the university through workshops
 by advertising and brochures
 by having groups form the university visit the schools
 by holding lectures and workshops to raise awareness for the parents and the schools and
through the social networks such as Facebook
 through generalizing the information on the schools that have disabled students
 through brochures and awareness raising seminars
 by raising awareness
 media and seminars
 brochures, announcements, seminars, and guided media
 by using census information to learn where the disabled people are in all areas and assign
committees in each are to raise awareness among them
 by holding course
 through visits to the schools and spreading the information to all directorates of education
 by having groups of university staff visit the schools to raise awareness about it
 by following up in the schools by the school counsellor
 by sharing and spreading the experiences of people who are disabled and successfully went
to university
 through lectures, workshops and announcements
 through introductional workshops and seminars
 through awareness courses and brochures
 by holding instructional meetings with the disabled and their parents to introduce the options
 by sending experts from the ministry of education to the schools to introduce the possibility of
joining the university and helping them with the procedure
 brochures to raise awareness
 by holding training days and workshops in the schools
 through the media and holding lectures and workshops
 by raising awareness through lectures and visits
 by integrating the disabled into the society
 by holding workshops at the schools that aim at introducing the university, the possibility of
joining and the services
 by raising awareness on the rights of the disabled to equal education through the media
 by raising awareness among school students
 raising awareness in schools about the different types of disability in general
57
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 by going to the schools and informing the disabled students that they can join the university if
they want
 through visiting the schools
 by more of knowing about the university in the schools
 more publicity is needed especially from the university by making interviews with disabled
students who study in the University
 through media, social media, direct contacts with schools
 through facilitating es and accommodating all relevant utilities
 by direct informations to be sent to schools (brochure, news letters ....)
9. Does the cost of studying at university prevent disabled people from applying to study?
Please explain:
 it does if they had poor financial conditions and most of them do
 sometimes it is hard for the family of the disabled to provide the tuition for the university so
they postpone applying or don't apply at all
 some families cannot afford the treatment for their children let alone university education
 although there are scholarships being provided they don't cover everything , there is still the
costs of transportation from ones's house to the university and back and from one campus to
the other
 transportation here is very difficult, it a lot of effort for the non-disabled let alone for the
disabled
 it depends upon the family's financial condition, although the People with Disability Care Office
provides scholarships
 some families especially poor ones cannot afford university education for their disabled kids
because of the costs of treatment for them
 if the parents cannot provide for two of their children to go to university they prefer to send the
ones who are not disabled
 the extra expenses of coming to the university from a far area in addition to them not being
able to work
 because of the financial conditions
 from the laws of the disabled that state their right to education
 the high cost of university education may prevent the providers for the disabled from sending
them to university
 university expenses can be an extra burden for the families who are already paying for
treatment
 because a parent with more than one child would prefer to send the non-disabled ones to
university because they have better chances of getting a job
 university expenses have nothing to do with disability
 because of the costs of treatment
 because there are the costs of their treatment + the costs of transportation to the university +
the expenses of university itself
 they cannot afford the tuition fees
 because the disabled are not usually able to pay for their own university expenses because of
their condition or maybe parents'
 because a disabled student would not have an income and totally dependent upon family and
wouldn't wanna burden them with extra expenses other than treatment and such and that
would prevent them from going to university
 many of them can't afford the tuition and books,etc.
 there are financial grants for the disabled students offered through the People with disability
Care Office but for some students the grant is not enough
 because the costs of university life is higher for the disabled students for transportation and
Braille books for example
 the costs of daily life may prevent the disabled from going to university
58
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 the university does provide scholarships for the disabled which makes things a little easier for
them but it is a problem for low achieving disabled students because the scholarship depends
on the GPA
 because people with disability usually don't have an income
 since the cost of treatment for the disabled could be expensive and that might prevent the
families from sending their kids to university.
 people with poor financial conditions would not send their disabled con/daughter to university
and the disabled themselves
 people find it pointless to pay tuition for their kids to go to university when they probably will
not work
 expensive tuition fees
 some person who are disabled from poor family
 because the tuition fees themselves are a burden to the families+ other things such as
transports and teaching aids
 student with special needs has no source of income depends on it, and the only source upon
which this period is through the family, and therefore so does not increase the burden of his
family from the costs of material, which will include (treatment and education), which leads to
lack of university admission
 he/she needs additional fees and expenses in everything, even double tariff for the taxi as
he/she can't manage him/herself perfectly
 I think that registration fees are not affordable by every one.
10. Do you know that disabled students are supported financially to continue their studies,
socially and with their educational needs?
If yes, where did you find out about this?
 I knew they received loans and aid form the different societies and for the community , in
addition to scholarships from the university if they have a high score in Tawjihi exam
 from the People with Disability Care Office x 6
 from the student council
 from the announcements of the People with Disability Care Office on the university website
 I know that we have a center that provides financial support for the disabled students and for
the students whose provider is disabled , I also know a student in the university who is getting
financial support
 from the university website and from the Finance Department in the university where I went to
get my scholarship
 meetings and seminars
 from the electronic announcements
 from the funding persons
 from my own experience, I didn't know before I joined the university I found out after
 I knew about the financial support from Mr Samer's Office but I am not sure about the social
support
 from the announcements of the People with Disability Care Office which is always working to
support the disabled financially
 from my father
 from the university itself
 from disabled people I know
 from my work as a social worker and at the rehabilitation center
 an announcement on the University's website
 from colleagues
 from friends of mine
 I work with the person who are visually impaired so I know that
 true, but they are not receiving enough social support
 through university context
59
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
11. How helpful is the information for disabled students when they start attending the
university?
How could this be improved?
 through workshops and awareness campaign
 by following up on how they are doing in the university, communicating with them and taking
their inquiries because many of the disabled students drop out of university for health issues
 by communication with their families, friends and the society
 I don't know x 4
 by coming up with easy and accessible means to deliver the information
 through workshops and awareness campaigns
 meeting with them to raise awareness
 knowing that will help them join the university without worrying about the financial aspect
 by holding regular meetings
 it provides moral and financial support and work opportunities in the future
 it can hold lectures and workshops to raise awareness and make brochures
 by announcing via all possible means
 by holding meetings with the disabled students to advise them on the suitable subjects that
would be useful in the future
 by maintaining communication with the concerned parties for up-to-date information
 brochures
 there should be more help from fellow students through support groups and administration
 holding special lectures for the disabled students each according to their type of disability
 through brochures that educate the disabled about the disabled
 it is very important for them to go to university, get a job, make money, get married and have
decent lives
 through raising awareness
 it will be improved once all the staff, instructors and employees and even the students know
how to deal with the disabled, but this has improved lately
 special care unit must be established in the University
 it makes him/her aware of their rights, and be engaged and integrated in the society
12. How helpful is The People with Disability Care Office to disabled students?
Please explain:
 I turned to the People with Disability Care Office for help with any problem
 it helps them by providing the services they need and consultancy in addition to providing
scholarships and facilitating administrative procedures
 it brings in all the disabled students in the university to study their needs and work to fulfil
them, such as equipment and teaching methods
 since the office was founded for the people with disability it must does everything it can to help
them with what they need
 it is supposed to be providing a lot of help but I think and I have noticed that it is not fully doing
its duties
 it provides scholarships in addition to monthly allowance
 I don't know x 4
 sometimes the People with Disability Care Office cannot help the disabled students due to
obstacles caused by university regulations
 it helps them financially by providing scholarships
 it tries everything it can to help them on an administrative level more than a financial one
 it provides many services and important information about university life , it also helps them
feel more confident about dealing with the new situation ( university)
 it helps by providing scholarships, solving the problems they face, claiming their rights and
providing moral support
60
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 by providing the computer lab for the visually impaired and organizing extracurricular activities
for the disabled
 it provides financial support as well as moral and social support and expertise
 frankly, I don’t know about the services it provides
 it helps them blend in at the university and it helps them with the tuition fees
 I don't know anything about this office
 it tries to provides to provide financial support for the disabled despite the difficulties
 they depend on other students to help ‘classmates’ to help them not the Care Office
 it helps them by providing financial support and tuition deductions as well as moral support
 it keeps up with the disabled students only through individual effort but it needs further
support through support groups
 it is financially, academically, and psychologically supportive, and it helps them with solve the
problems they face
 it helps the disabled students by forming support groups to help them move around and by
holding courses and training for the inclusion
 it provides the needed financial and moral support and Mr Samer is always there for them
 the office helps in providing the disabled students with information about the suitable subjects
for them to study and register for classes in addition to facilitating communication with the
instructors and heads of the departments.
 it does help but it only provides money for almost one third of the tuition and that's not enough
and there are other expenses
 it depends on the employee's mood
 it encourages them to demand for their rights, it holds awareness campaign and symposiums
on their needs, it protect and defend them and facilitate and paid some of their financial fees
13. How accessible is the university campus for disabled students?
How could this be improved?
 I don't know as I am not familiar with the university campuses
 by providing special buses to take them to and from the university
 for example when I was going to the old campus my father had to drop me off 50 meters away
and I had to walk in the crowd and many times I was pushed , that could have been avoided if
there was a place for drop off right in front of the entrance
 for the visually and physically impaired , they need to be driven to the university everyday and
there also needs to be elevators
 by providing special passages for the physical impairment as well as equipment to help the
visually impaired move around campus
 by organizing the traffic in front of the university as it is always very crowded and by providing
transportation just for us the disabled
 for people with physical impairments (like paralyzed) it is difficult with all the stairs and not
many accessible ways
 by providing accommodation close to the university and hiring people to assist them move
around
 by providing ramps and elevators to facilitate their movement
 by proving transports that are for the disabled students only to avoid inconveniency caused by
some inconsiderate people
 by equipping the university with the necessary facilities that would encourage more disabled
people to join
 transportation to and from the university is difficult especially in the morning the taxi station is
very crowded and there is a lot of pushing which makes it hard for the disabled to get through
 by having the security guards and the student council members to help them get to the places
they want
 providing adapted cars to take the disabled students to and from city center to the university
 by building special passages for them to walk on
 the infrastructure of the streets and the university is not adapted
61







providing special, adapted transports
by having adapted buildings and facilities or at least passages
by providing special transportation that are suitable for people with physical impairment
by having special passages and adapted means of transport to help them move around
they need special transports for them
by providing adapted vehicles
by providing adapted vehicles for the disabled and escorts to help them move around
by providing ramps and easy pathways
by building new passages especially for the disabled and allocating vehicles to help them get
to the university
by assigning people for the help of the disabled
it takes the disabled students a lot of time to get to the university and to get to their classes on
campus
by providing accessible and easy transportation
through the adaptation of buildings and roads
it is not easy for them to get to the university
the office must be easy access, and shall be in the ground floor
we have to apply a very special policy that allows disabled people to join the university without
discrimination.
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey









14. How welcoming and supportive are the general staff at the university to disabled students
e.g. administrative staff, librarians?
Please explain:
 I do not know x 4
 it depends on the employee's mood !
 once I registered for a compulsory English course but it was in a building very far from my
college so my father tried to do something about it and went to speak to the Dean and
secretaries but they did not respond so we went to Mr Samer for help, and it took him 30
minutes of phone calls to change it! It was difficult even for Mr Samer let alone a regular
disabled student
 sometimes they make them feel inferior or call them "disable" which reflects negatively on the
disabled
 they try everything they can and they respect us
 I once saw librarian helping a blind student find the book she wants
 it differs from one employee to another
 there needs to be people who specialized in dealing with the disabled to educate them on how
to deal with the disabled students
 many of the university are very helpful and provide the disabled students with what they need
 everyone is very helpful to them considering their circumstances
 because of the nature of our society people are helpful and sympathetic (customs and
traditions)
 they may not know the disabled students
 because for them having disabled students would cause confusion and extra work
 different people treat the disabled students differently , some would not even be willing to talk
to them some treat them with inferiority and some are very nice to them
 most of them are considerate but unfortunately some of them are not
 they treat them very nicely even better than they treat the non-disabled
 not all of them are willing to help, they need to be trained
 they always welcome them with pleasure and treat them with love and respect
 they are usually very welcoming especially if they come through The People with Disability
Care Office and they are in need of help
 they welcome them and provide them with what they need
 the disabled are not welcomed to a certain extent
62
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
only a few of them are
by raising awareness on the disability law
it depends, there is usually an inferior look to the disabled
there needs to be more awareness
all facilities shall be easy to access, even the library. I must reach the book I need myself
without the help but guidance as others
 they don't know how to deal with them.





15. How welcoming and supportive are the university teaching staff to disabled students?
Please explain:
 it differs for different instructors some of them are great and some are bad
 I don't see anything formal or legal attention, they only care out of personal feelings of
compassion
 I've never seen any instructors complaints or feel irritated about having disabled students in
their classes
 they take care of them even after the classes as they answer their questions and inquiries
about the material
 since the disabled are in mixed classes with the non-disabled it makes it hard to have special
communication with the lectures for the disabled for example they cannot control the speed of
the class
 they are helpful to us
 they reinforce the inclusion and make the disabled students feel important
 they deal with them indiscriminately
 from what I know from disabled friends who are in the university the problem lies in then not
knowing how to deal with the disabled
 they show a lot of sympathy with them but they treat them equally in academic requirements
with the non-disabled for a realistic education
 some instructors are notably not considerate of the conditions of the disabled students and
sometimes they reluctantly cooperate
 the teaching staff are very considerate and if a disabled student asks for more help they
provide without any reluctance
 the teaching staff regard the disabled students with great respect and admiration because of
their determination to succeed and not giving up
 they are treated equally as the non-disabled students by the teaching staff
 I think the teaching staff would welcome anyone with physical disability as long as they're
mentally healthy
 I don't know x 2
 some of them encourage the disabled students and some feel that it is useless having them in
the university
 there are some instructors who are not considerate for the disabled students
 they treat them very nicely even better than they treat the non-disabled
 not all the teaching staff have enough information on how to deal with the disabled
 they always welcome them with pleasure and treat them with love and respect
 they are generally welcoming , within their experience of dealing with the disabled and they
are all willing to cooperate
 through making them welcome to participate and feel that they belong to the university
 sometimes, the instructors don't take the students abilities into consideration when writing the
questions of the exams or when grading them
 only a minority of them
 it depends on the person him/herself as people have different views of the disabled
 awareness campaign and workshops shall be held for them in particular and the whole society
as well
 they don't know how to deal with them
63
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
16. How good is the support provided for individual disabled students to study their chosen
subject at the university?
Please explain:
 they should be aware of the available options to know what kind of jobs they can do in the
future
 if the disabled student studies the subject of his choice he/she will ret very hard to succeed at
it no matter how hard it was
 from my point of view, the companies and institutions prefer to hire the non-disabled, it is not
about the subjects
 for example , students with visual impairment are provided with Braille books
 as the cost of some subjects is higher than others, the disabled students tend to choose the
less expensive unless they get a scholarship then they study the subject they want
 there needs to be specialized people to determine what is suitable for each case individually
 by the time they start university they usually have a clear idea on what they want to study and
are determined upon it, they don't need anyone to tell them what's best for them
 it is a kind of compensation, for them and it might also be the chance for them to excel and
stand out in the society
 when they study the subject of their choice they do very well at it
 studying at the university gives them confidence
 I don't know x 4
 it introduces the different subjects and helps them decide what they'll do best
 it helps them recognize the subjects they can do best in and be creative
 they are guided to the subjects that are most suitable for them in the professional life
 they are advised to study whatever meets their abilities and the requirements of the jib market
 not all subjects are available for the disabled students as some buildings are not adapted
 it makes them feel equal and improves their self esteem
 the university is very helpful as it makes all the courses and subjects available for the disabled
students by asking the community service students to type the books into Braille as part of
their community service hours
 it depends on the subject
 it is not very helpful since it is not likely that the disabled student will find a job after graduation
especially with the public buildings not being adapted
 it gives them confidence and encourages them to join the university
 it is very important to get them through university and get over the difficulties
 they are given the chance to be creative and blend in
 they shall be directed to choose subjects that they believe they suit their ambitions with taking
into account their conditions
17. How welcoming and supportive are non-disabled students towards disabled students?
Please explain:
 it depends on one's character
 sometimes I see students harassing the disabled verbally non-verbally, I had some incidents
myself
 it depends on the student's attitude, some of them respect the disabled students and some of
them have an inferior view of the disabled , it the person's and the society's culture
 they are helpful and loving of them to show them they are not different fro them and they never
mock them
 the disabled students move slowly and with difficulty not as freely as the non-disabled so they
don't welcome them with them
 some students are mean to them and avoid their company
 different people treat the disabled differently
 they treat them as they are normal people
64
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 there are some of them who don't know about the disabled and never dealt with them before
so there should be awareness campaigns
 the great majority is understanding and helpful but there are some who are unpleasant
 some of them have negative attitudes towards the disabled
 most students would offer to help them move around or with their assignments
 the non-disabled students feel like it's their duty to help the disabled and ashamed if they don't
 they help them as much as they can out of pity
 I don't know x 2
 some of them are rude and disrespectful and some are nice and respectful
 some non-students show sympathy with the disabled and some don't
 my friends treated me in a great way
 there needs to be more awareness
 they always welcome them with pleasure and treat them with love and respect
 how a non-disabled student treats a disabled one depends on his/her education and
awareness on the issue, some of are very responsive and are willing to help and some don't
respond at all, this shows the importance of activating classroom awareness and answering all
inquiries
 the disabled students are not socially engaged
 the society is becoming more and more aware of the conditions of the disabled
 a few of them are
 as a kind sympathy
 we try to help them as possible like helping them move around campus
 we cannot deny that they are welcomed but a minority is still afraid of hurting their feelings if
they do welcome them
 some students have to be educated and informed about the special needs of the disabled. I
would like to tell you about my daily suffering: I take a taxi from Nablus to my town, most of the
passengers are university students, each time I have to say, please I can't sit but in the front
seat
18. How well adapted is the student accommodation for disabled students?
How could this be improved?
 I don't know / I don't use them x 5
 I do not use the university accommodations
 the owners of these accommodation must be aware that disabled students are using them and
thus at least remove anything blocking their way or causing inconvenience
 by establishing an infra structure that would be suitable for the disabled
 the accommodation is not adapted even for the minimum needs of the disabled, they are only
made for the non-disabled
 by providing accommodations close to the university and in lower storeys
 by having the concerned authorities such as the municipality realize the importance of
adaptability of accommodations
 by compelling the service providers to improve the living conditions for them and monitor that
 there needs to be accommodations for the disabled where trusted people are hired to assist
them to prevent accidents and hazards
 by having well equipped and adapted accommodations for the disabled
 there should be well adapted buildings for them
 there needs to be more accommodations for the disabled that are adapted to their needs
 there are no elevators to facilitate movement
 it is not adapted for the disabled
 there are no elevators or equipment to make them adapted
 changing the accommodations to meet their needs like having elevators
 I don't know about the accommodations
 by providing special apartments for the disabled that meet their needs
 the infrastructure needs to be modified
65
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 it depends on the building itself
 this can be improved by having agreements between the University and the real estate people
to have accommodations close to the university and that are adapted
 providing special buildings, easy access to those buildings and as much quietness as possible
 by providing buildings that are adapted for the disabled
 by providing the disabled students with their own special accommodations
 there are no bathrooms for the disabled
 the buildings need to adapted
 by having a budget for the adaption of the infrastructure
 through imposing especial rules to be abide by the municipality and engineering federation
19. How accessible and welcoming are the social clubs and activities to disabled students?
How could this be improved?
 by adapting them
 by including them and dedicating certain activities for them to make them feel confident
 if the clubs and activities are organised in a way to accommodates the disabled students it
should make the inclusion process easier and more natural , such as the activities organised
by the People with Disability Care Office
 by giving them the chance to participate and show the world that not only can they participate
in academic life but in social life too
 there is currently none
 some institutions are welcoming and encourage their participation
 by including the disabled in these activities and encouraging them to participate as well as
raising awareness among the people in charge
 by encouraging the people in charge of these activities to include the disabled and educating
them about the importance of inclusion
 they should be given the chance to express themselves and be creative at the hobbies they
like which would reflect positively upon their psychological condition
 I don't know x 3
 by having activities just especially for them
 by letting them be members in the clubs
 by including them in these activities
 most activities are for non-disabled students
 by having activities especially for them
 having their own clubs and activities
 I don't know about the social life
 these clubs should be willing to take in and include the disabled students which would improve
their lives
 by encouraging them , including them and making them feel widely welcomed in the society
 it depends on the type of activity, they are mostly not accessible
 by formally inviting them
 by inviting the disabled students and encouraging them to participate but of course it is up to
them you can't force them
 they can have special activities for the disabled
 by encouraging them to participate to enhance their skills
 by working to engage the disabled students and include them in these clubs and activities
 there are no clubs or activities specifically for the disabled
 by letting them know they are welcome to join these activities
 I was part of a volunteer group for the students affairs and there were disabled students with
me and they were very active
 through making roads streets and all utilities easy to access and through awareness campaign
66
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
20. How accessible and welcoming are the sports facilities for disabled students?
How could this be improved?
 I never used the sports facilities, it was hard for me to get to the lecture rooms let alone the
sports facilities
 the ways leading to these facilities must be accessible so they can go in the first place and
exercise
 by further inclusion and making the facilities more adapted
 there should be games that are suitable for their abilities and special courts
 by providing spaces or sections for the disabled to do sports
 there is none
 they think the disabled cannot do sports
 by motivating them and having games for them only
 by making the sports facilities accessible
 by providing well-equipped sports facilities
 I don't know x 2
 by having games and activities for them
 by having specific times for the use of the disabled students
 by letting them participate in the available sports activity
 by providing adapted and private sports facilities
 modifying the infrastructure and building adapted sports facilities
 it depends on the facilities
 by providing tools and facilities that are adapted such as basketball and tennis for the visually
disabled and training them
 providing sports that are suitable for the disabled
 the disabled need their own clubs and instruments
 by providing adaptable sports facilities for the disabled
 by letting them participate and being everyone being respectful about it
 it depends on when these clubs are free to be used
 by providing scholarships for them and fulfilling their needs
 I do not know but I think they do not use the sports facilities
 through making roads and streets and all utilities easy to access and through awareness
campaign
21. How much does a lack of money affect the lives of disabled students?
Please explain:
 the disabled usually need supporting equipment which are usually rare and expensive
 when there is a lack of money it is hard to provide basic needs such as medicine and transport
expenses to the university
 the disabled students usually have more needs than others which makes a financial burden for
them
 there should by funding provided by the university that covers all aspects of the students
 the disabled need twice the expenses the others need especially for getting places as they pay
more money for taxis and such to take them directly where they need to go
 they may refrain from taking summer courses for financial reasons
 unlike the non-disabled, it is hard for the disabled to get around, they need special equipment
to help them move around and get to places
 money is essential for the needs of the disabled student and lack of money would mean not
being able to fulfil those needs and would affect his life
 it may be a reason for them to drop out of university
 with no money they cannot join the university and with no education they cannot get a job
and be integrated in the society
 lack of money makes the disabled feel even more dramatized and mad at the society
67
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey
 there should be a fund devoted to the disabled students that provides scholarships and daily
life expenses
 it affects the treatment they get and their inclusion in social activities
 they are unable to cover the tuition and expenses of the university
 some of them cannot afford the tuition fees for the university and neither can their families and
some cannot afford the university expenses such as books and stationary
 I don't know about sports
 because they cannot work to make the money they need
 the financial aspect is most important for the disabled
 money affects everything
 it has a great effect especially when in need to buy certain tools that make life easier for them
such as the Braille sensor or even Braille books
 it is because they are mostly unable to provide an income (it depends on the type if disability)
 because they don't have an income
 lack of money could prevent the disabled from receiving treatment or having a normal life
 lack of money can be the reason why some students would drop out of university or would be
in need of basic life needs
 because it costs a lot of money to adapt the school, the university, the streets and the public
areas
 because parents believe it's a waste of money since they will not be able to work
 money is very important to make their daily lives easier for the particularity of their situation,
for example they need money to enlarge the font in books in some cases or special transports
or even the constant need to use the phone
 money talks with ordinary people but I think it makes disabled even sings
22. What are the 3 biggest barriers to more disabled students attending the university?
Barrier 1:
 financial conditions x 34
 transportation x 7
 not being able to get a job-difficult to compete
 lack of attention
 lack of people to help them
 they fear people's view of them
 not being able to adapt with the other students
 the lack of knowledge among the disabled about the opportunities available for them
 tuition fees
 society being un-accepting of them
 lack of support
 lack of qualified staff to deal with the disabled students
 spiritual incapacity
 psychological barriers
 the facilities are not adapted x 3
 facilities
 society would not accept the existence of people with special needs
 accommodation
 awareness and information
Barrier 2:
 lack of awareness on disability issues such as the number of disabled people
 transportation x 11
 biased culture
 lack of resources at the university which prevents it from providing equipment such as Braille,
books and elevators
68
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey

























the society's view of them
lack of adapted facilities x 16
living far away from the university
financial conditions x 4
administrative regulations sometimes
difficulty to obtain material such as Braille books
feelings of inferiority
family support
not having enough confidence to be included in the society
the general teaching methods and policies
not enough attention
difficulty to obtain the university requirements
other's acceptance
not being accepted by the non-disabled students
the financial issues most Palestinian families suffer from
there are no work opportunities for them x2
social issues and acceptance
feeling singled out from other students
the society's negative view of the disabled
cultural barriers
there are not people who are hired specifically to help the disabled
social awareness towards integration
lack of work opportunities and marginalization of the disabled
staff understanding
special people to deal with disabled students
Barrier 3:
 difficulty to move around campus and lack of equipment x9
 backward mentalities
 not finishing the school because the lack of books at the schools
 lack of confidence
 accommodation
 lack of knowledge about the services that the university provides
 marginalization
 unpleasant feelings
 being shy to face the world or ask for help
 they are concerned that they might not be able to continue their education
 financial conditions of the family
 poor financial conditions x 5
 supporting technology
 lack of awareness of the parents on the possibility of joining the university
 not knowing the facilities provided
 difficulty to interact with the society
 not being encouraged by the society
 facilities-roads
 not being accepted in the university
 need of escort
 not feeling respected and regarded
 un-adapted transports and infrastructure
 there are no qualified institutions to provide the needed treatment and psychological support
 not enough attention
 transportation x 3
 communication with the society
69
the university being not very accessible
the disabled themselves not being able to deal with the reality
psychological barriers
adaptation of the minds
un-adapted facilities
to be accessible by others
fear
social Interaction with other students
administrative barriers
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey









23. What would be the 3 most useful improvements to support disabled students to attend the
university?
Improvement 1:
 providing adapted surroundings
 providing special transportation x 4
 providing them with work opportunities after graduation
 less talk and more action when it comes to providing the facilities
 providing special passages for the physical impairments and Braille books for the blind
 guiding them and supporting them psychologically and intellectually in going through the
university life
 providing centers for financial support
 providing scholarships
 adaptability of the roads
 providing the subjects that are suitable for their situation
 there should be lecturers who are specialized in dealing with the disabled
 there should be special entrances and exits for them
 providing close accommodations
 announcing the provided scholarships
 financial support
 inclusion
 advertising the importance of education for them and joining the university
 facilitating movement around campus
 providing scholarships for undergraduates as well as graduate students
 exempting them from tuition fees
 allocating buses to take them to university
 providing scholarships
 transportation should be covered and accessible
 financial support
 providing suitable infrastructure
 implementing the disabled law
 covering at least a small part of the tuition
 providing adapted facilities and financial support
 assigning escorts for their help
 raising awareness among students and staff on the importance of respecting and helping the
disabled
 implementing modern technologies in teaching like talking computers the disabled students
 disabled students should get a minimum of 50% off tuition
 free or almost free education
 providing them with work opportunities after graduation
 raising awareness
 holding orientation classes for the disabled students
 providing sources of income for the disabled
 donating money for the disabled
70
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey














financial support (covering the full tuition )
adaptation of the facilities
to have free education for the disabled
financial support
special elevators for the disabled
providing more elevators
financial support
to provide them with free education
hiring psycho-social experts at the university to work with the disabled
proper accommodation of lecture class room
he need to provide facilities in terms of transportation and material support
university facilities (entrances, open spaces, stair cases, etc)
improvement of transportation
adapting the University facilities
Improvement 2:
 positive approach by the society
 providing special teaching methods for the disabled
 facilitating transportation and the buildings
 raising awareness among staff
 moral support
 supporting them financially and providing all the tools and equipment they need as some
special educational methods are expensive
 providing convenient accommodation
 providing the facilities that meet their needs
 adaptability of buildings
 financial support
 free education and free services
 providing them with the books that are suitable for their needs
 providing volunteers for their assistance
 making known to all staff the need to treat the disabled as normal people
 reconsidering some of the laws
 finding ways that make it easier for them to uses the internet and the online courses
 improving their skills through clubs and such
 technical support
 psycho-social support
 putting in place a policy or amending the existing one to do them justice
 holding training courses in the schools for the disabled
 having special accommodations for the disabled
 improving the facilities in a way that helps them move around
 holding meetings to raise awareness among families about the importance of education for the
disabled
 letting the disabled know that they can join university without any restrictions
 raising awareness
 having projects that help them be creative
 providing adapted accommodations and transports
 having motivations for the disabled students such as scholarships
 raising awareness among the non-disabled students about the importance of inclusion
 providing financial help
 having programmes that provide psycho-social rehabilitation
 there should be treatment centers on campus supervised by the university doctors to provide
treatment and psychological support
 unconditional acceptance
 providing adapted transports
71






financial and moral support
enhancing their housing conditions
providing the necessary tools and facilities to make university life easier for the disabled
raising awareness on the rights of the disabled
financial support (reducing the costs)
raising awareness
safe passages
hire people whose job would be to assist the disabled students
to make the university physically accessible for all disabled and especially for the severe
cases
providing money for as daily allowance
more publicity of the disabled right to attend lecture
the presence of catalysts such as student Scholarships
transportation facilities to the university.
improvement on utilities
training Staff to deal with disabled people
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey









Improvement 3:
 providing work opportunities -5% of them has to be employed in any institution
 covering the tuition fees for them
 lowering the costs the university
 implementing the laws
 providing job opportunities that are suitable for them
 creating reception rooms for the disabled that have computers for their use
 helping them move around campus
 creating job opportunities for them
 creating a friendly atmosphere
 providing modern teaching methods that make it easier to deliver information
 making known to the students the need to engage them and not desert them
 having adapted facilities
 improving the infrastructure
 holding motivational workshops and lectures to encourage them to join the university
 easy and comfortable transportations
 engaging them in activities
 providing the supplies they need for the university
 constant counselling through visits to the schools
 building adapted roads
 working to integrate them with the non-disabled
 raising awareness on the importance of including the disabled in the society
 having adapted facilities
 financial support
 providing scholarships for graduate and postgraduate studies with no restrictions
 rehabilitating the infrastructure
 financial support
 facilitating their movement and the way the are taught according to the type of disability
 providing special vehicles
 adapting the facilities and providing easy transportation
 adapting the buildings
 special parking places and classroom seats
 to increase the awareness of the university normal staff and student about the rights of
disabled especially their rights for education and the importance of including them in the
university
 following up on their progress and proving aiding equipment
 no tuition fees for disabled students
72
Appendix 3 - Complete answers to all open questions in the survey




bulletins awareness of the need to integrate disabled persons
enhancing social interaction in the university though certain meetings, festivals, entertainment
activities, etc.
improvement on administrative affairs
helping disabled students with special equipment
Is there is anything else you would like to tell us?
 thank you and good luck
 the disabled are human like everyone and they are intellectual and treat people nicely so they
should be respected and not harassed because it hurts their feelings
 I would like to say that the People with Disability Care Office is playing a distinct role in the
university but needs further support and development to support the disabled morally,
financially and logistically
 thank you for caring about our opinions
 so many families deprive their disabled children from education for financial reasons or for
social and psychological ones
 thank you for caring !
 I hope that you follow up on this
 I would like to add that it is important to have psychological training for the disabled to help
them overcome the society's view of them as ‘inferior’, they should be able ready to stand up
speak out and compete just like the non-disabled, socially and academically
 the disabled have the right to go on with their graduate studies and they receive scholarships
and go abroad
 the only disabled people are the ones with intellectual impairment !!
 the media plays a very important role in raising awareness on the importance of inclusion, why
not have a special channel for the disabled?
 it makes no difference for the disabled whether they go to university or not because there as
no chance for them to find real jobs and they will end up as burdens to their families and to the
society
 it would have been good to have questions about the role of the families of the disabled, other
than that, the questionnaire covered everything
 I really wish that you help all disabled people not only students because they need all the help
they can get
 each type of disability must be dealt with individually and with great attention to details
 hiring psycho-social experts at the university to work with the disabled, support them socially
and reinforce the inclusion
 wishing you all the best towards improving and facilitating the enrolment of disabled students
in the university
 hope to go a head with implementing the program, KIDS is our hope
73