In face of university life

Disabled are Able

     With the increase in the number of vacancies, students have more chances to receive tertiary education. However, for physically disabled students, the road is not that straight.

     Like others students, the physically disabled have to go through public examinations and the JUPAS system.

     At present, there are only two special schools in Hong Kong providing education for them until Form 5. This reduces the chance for them to enter universities.

     To help universities understand the situation of the disabled applicants, a subsystem under the JUPAS was introduced in 1997. This enables universities to provide help and advice to them at an earlier stage.

     However, due to physical constraints, their ability might be underestimated under the current examination system, according to Miss Maria Wong, assistant principal of the John F. Kennedy Centre.

     The centre provides education and other services for physically disabled aged from four to 20.

     Miss Wong suggested that school recommendation should play an important role in the process of university entry assessment.

     "Teachers are the most suitable to judge the abilities of physically handicapped students," she explained.

     Mr. Chong Chan Yau, director of the Fundraising and Outreach, also thought that physically handicapped students have more difficulty entering universities in Hong Kong.

     Mr. Chong, the first blind candidate in Legco elections, studied psychology at the University of Hong Kong. Later, he studied information systems in another university in the United States.

     "In the past, many Hong Kong people were prejudiced against physically handicapped students," he said.

     "The situation has improved a lot now but some universities still hesitate to accept them," he said.

     Besides entry difficulties, physically disabled students have to cope with other new challenges on the campus.

     "Physically handicapped students have to spend extra time and make extra effort to obtain good examination results.

     "For instance, spastics with writing problems must express themselves through the use of computers," said Miss Wong.

     Luk Ching Kit, a Year 1 philosophy student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, suffers from muscle problems.

     "As I have difficulties in walking, it takes me a lot of time moving from one place to another.

     "If I plan to travel for a relatively long distance, I have to hire a bus a week earlier," he said.

     Mr. Chong also remembered his problem encountered in learning.

     "I needed to ask my friends to record the contents of the books I needed," he said "Then I had to convert the words into braille.

     "I also had to learn to use some special equipment but their usage was often complicated and this made me tired," he added.

     Despite his difficulties, Mr. Chong participated in many extracurricular activities in his university life.

     "Since I could not see the posters of the clubs and societies in campus, I did not know how to get to the venue of their activities.

     "But I realized that studying was not the only important matter in my university life so I participated in many social services," he said.

     However, Ching Kit's physical constraint seems to impede his participation of extracurricular activities.

     "I joined one society only," He said. "I don't want to bother the others to help me get from one place to another."

     He also confessed that he is a quiet person, not good at initiating conversations.

     "I seldom ask my classmates to accompany me during free lessons," he said. "I don't want to trouble others to help me walk around."

     To break through this obstacle, Mr. Chong believes that initiative is very important.

     "Some schoolmates seldom talked to me because they did not know how to communicate with me," he said. "But once I took the active role, making friends with them became much easier."

     Mr. Chong also compared his experiences of studying in Hong Kong with that in the U.S.A.

     "I don't think that everything is better overseas," he said. "Even in the same country, services for the physically handicapped vary according different universities."

     According to Mr. Chong, universities in America are concerned about the situation of individual students while Hong Kong universities tend to provide more general services.

     He also pointed out that people's attitude towards the physically disabled are slightly different in the two places. "In the U.S.A., it is common for the physically disabled to study at universities. But in Hong Kong, the physically disabled in universities seems to be more special."

     Though facing so many problems, Mr. Chong thought that his university life was colourful.

     "It was probably the most enjoyable time in my life," he said. "I have met some intimate friends, and we shared our viewpoints."

     Ching Kit is also optimistic towards his university life.

     "I hope that I can build up and strengthen myself in these three years," he said. "That's why I study philosophy."