that is one great difficulty that everyone faced during
this pandemic.
And shy is going to discuss like what all the problems they
faced when when he this do a teaching course or undertake a
teaching course on the higher education platform.
>> Do you to the pandemic, everything changed and especially
with for students with disabiltiys.
They'd to face little barriers and difficulties. I would
say from the employers if I had federation and disability
center.
Four or five-years ago we started these online training and
eLearning training.
especially training these students.
We never thought there work a pandemic like this.
But because of their disability they have transportation.
It was easy for online training. This was useful when the

pandemic came. The difficulties we felt when it comes to
higher education, most of these students they had,
especially when you started with impaired persons.
Some of these region impaired persons don't have the
deslices, the software and the smart phones. Also they dnts
know the technology how to use the computer and the smart
phones.
That is not a lack of training in devices and lack of
devices as well.
These devices are very expensive. The university should
consider provide being the devices for the students maybe at
a subsidized rate.
There is one entity who gave all of the students with
disability give everyone a tap. Afternoon they complete the
degree they have to return.
That sounds good the three or four-years they will be using
and they turn it to the next generation.
Those things were useful, because they were able to access
the training.
Because online lectures were there. The visually impaired
persons they'd a learning management system.
You know the websites we're not accessing that.
Especially the students were asked to submit assignments a
and examination but there was a run, a positive thing was
most of them upgraded their websites according to
international accessibility standards. It's better than now
than before of the pandemic.
For easy use they take a printout and they scan it.
Or they send the notes via scan notes.
It was difficult for the visually impaired persons to access
these training materials.
Say you are in the hostels or any other place the students
with disabilities get the support of students with no
disability.
Due to the pandemic they were isolated and confined to their
homes in the you recall areas.
So they did not have any family support to get these things
ready and also with the technology.
If the student with disabilities with other students, they
each other have to get these services. But when you are
isolated, when you are at home, the family support is not
there.
The family members do not know the technology, how to use
it.
The difficulties are there.
And also from the very grassroots where we have the data
connectivity the students with disabilities maybe had to
climb trees or wait on the road to get the proper signal or
data connectivity.
And the lockdown situation, they didn't have a -- in sha
reLanka most of these students would put a data card and get
data activity.
>> To go out and get a data card was not mob becausewas a
severe lockdown.
Mob online transferring the money and on Loon banging system
is not available.
It was very difficult for them also the low vision students
with disabilities, it was difficult because they could not
do the screen magnifier because the lectures even for our
students the visually impaired students, the lecturers have
the PowerPoint on the screen.
Our screen reader does not read what is often the screen.
They were suggesting to the lectures to give them out before
the lecture so they can read it through the screen reading
software. But these things did not happen. It was
difficult because what is on the screen, a visually impaired
person the screen reader does not read. And when it comes
to hearing impaired students.
Because of wearing of masks.
There are hearing impaired students who are doing lip
reading. The lip movements cannot be seen and some of the

lectures on line lectures they don't turn on the video.
And the reading can't be done and sign language support was
not there.
The hearing impaired students were marginalized.
The audio recording is not accessible for the hearing
impaired person.
They had to get the recording and get the support.
The body system is not there and the family support is not
there.
And also students with physical disabilities maybe for
wheelchair users.
Sometimes people with other disabilities can go here and
there and get them in a place where there is date that
connective.
They have to go on the road and get the station where there
is data connectivity to attend to the lecture.
It's not easy.
It was difficult for students with diverse disabilities and
the economic crisis was there due to various reasonings the
cost was high.
Students with disabilities.
Sometimes there were lectures would ask these student write
the assignment and take a photo and upload it.
For a hearing impaired user how can you do that.
Mostly sometimes the word format if they had to get special
permission for students with disabilities to access all of
this information.
>> You said the data connectivity was a big challenge.
Could all people have heard.
Most of the disabled students receive funding. And they
don't have access to the data connectivity.
And countries like sri Lanka.
>> Good morning.
>> Can you switch your camera please.
>> Can he see me my camera is switched on.
Good morning everyone.
(inaudible).
>> Doctor we can't hear you properly.
>> Am I now okay?
>> Now a better.
>> (inaudible).
(Poor audio.
(.
>> The live captioning options and the apps are (inaudible).
(Poor audio.
((inaudible).
(Poor audio).
(inaudible).
>> I'm sorry for the audio disturbances I think he is

traveling.
I will summarize what he was about to say.
Due to the expanded make up the science students had a lot
of problem and a lot of issue.
We couldn't take them to the lab around give them a hands on
experience to work on the software and we have to if it's a
computer science students we depend on open sources
something we couldn't make.
Coming to the engineering part, the engineering students and
the engineering lab the robotics lab all of those things
have to happen online.
It was difficult to have those students out to have a
practical experience or knowledge on these things.
Even the staff have to learn the new things.
How we can teach them and what best we could do on our site
as the teacher.
Normally we have students going for a project or intern
ship.
They go to the condition and they work with the company
people and they learn what does the company do and the
team-work and the coordination.
And they stayed back and it was a report that was submitted
on a project report with any practical exposure.
That was a copy paste from the internet.
These are some.
Problems and the faculty was very difficult and the proper
grading wasn't given to the student.
For this discussion there are some things which have to be
considered when you talk about higher education of the
disached student.
More than 50 percent of the world population we have people
with disability, the disability can be a speech disability
orfice y -- physical disability.
The critical questions or the critical part is though we
have adapted to technology slowly, it's a slow growth.
What about the funding students for these disabled students.
That is a major question.
When we made the study about the students and that you were

disabled students the funding wags a great question.
There was no proper fund being the university which were
helping out to come out with learning management smtion and
other things, still a fund being a proper funding is not
available. That is one major part.
Every major community has one.
And third the privacy.
We're online and we use everything from the system, and the
privacy part is still a question or area to be researched
and how we can give a better solution to this.
And third thing the IT is not centralized. IT management is
not central iced and when IT is not centralized disparity
happens.
We have to see how this disparity could be balanced.
That is the problems we actually face and the compliance to
the web management.
The disabled students how they access the web.
So this is a major issue u?
These are the things that have to be considered and some
sort of balance. Even though we can't give a solution for
all of these things. But some balance will imfrof the
quality of education that something offered to disabled
students I had a made student an she had a child.
The child was sent home and that mad servant works ever Dave
for her daily food and other things.
She could not help with the connectivity or the online
majoritiment system or learning portal or whatever it is.
She comes and says I have problems with C connectivity.
I tell the child to do like this.
And he couldn't keep up with me.
I felt this is a major problem.
They tomatoe have food and healthcare and it's such a heavy
amount.
And hop this could be satisfied.
That is one issue which made me feel though I'm a teacher I
couldn't make certain things.
I couldn't just tell her, tell him the basic things you need
to do. I couldn't make out and bring the child into pl proper
shape. These students need the touch and feel of a teacher.
They see how the teacher speaks.
Those that cannot talk or have speaking disabilities they
h
have to see us talking and those type of things was a real
problem and the touch and feel was missing that is about the
problems we have in the higher education part with the
disability students.
Now the forum is open for questions and answers.
>> Hello I'm Latisha from the Solomon Islands.
I have one question for the panelist, it would be
interesting we had someone share our family support.
It would be interesting to know why the lack of family
support.
What could be some suggestions on how to engage to get
family support.
It's vital to get this support from home especially in the
pandemic.
Just your suggestions or thought how to engage family
support at this time.
>> I will answer that question.
People with disabilities it's a lockdown situation
throughout our lives.
When the whole world is in a lockdown situation we're in
double lockdown.
That is what happened during the pan Del Mick.
.
-- pandemic.
The parent may have a child with a disability but they will
have other children as well. These family members they
think it's always -- up know they get most of the support as
non-disabilities.
Maybe the parent, also the fact is as well, for example,
during the lockdown situation when the child with the
disabiltiys is at home maybe the mother can't go for work.
She has to look afternoon the child, the child with the
severe disabiltiy.
Those things were there.
They should be able to get the family support as I told you
buff.
And like the technology and the doctor said they don't have
any support.
There should be a government mechanism to have support
sentencer to -- support these children and students with
disabilities.
To have an income generating activities.
Income generatening Meta to support parents of children with
disabilities.
Both are equally important.
First you have to have a change of mind-set E and in veblg
countries we don't have parent counseling.
We always suggest to have a help desk at the hospital.
Because we're not maybe a child and a parent gets a child
with a d disability.
For some reason a person acquires a disability.
Most of these people don't know what to do.
Where they are to get the support it's very important that
you have a help desk at every hospital.
So, they can provide all of this information for parents and
people who require disabilities.
It's very important.
There are so many people with disabilities that are employed
in the government sector and there are graduates with
disabilities.
So you can make use of those people and have these help

desks which will be very useful for everybody. The first
thing when you acquire a disability the first place anyone
goes is the hospital.
If you don't get the proper guidance from the hospital you
are lost.
You can leave various organizations doing various things.
The policies and the rights of people with disabilities.
So the parents can be aware of.
>> Thank you Monique.
Do you have any other questions?
>> Yes.
Many thanks for the very interesting session.
I'm Abdul Hammond f from Jordon.
Do we have to make the technology more inclusive for people
with the disability. The industrial revolution is focusing
on interconnectivity an real-time data and machine learning
and. Smart devices and many thanks.
>> In technology getting advanced and people actually there
is a part that you people with disabilities have a very key
R

role to play.
Or maybe a hearing impaired person people with hearing
impairment, they have to do with sign language or text.
Web developers and software developers everyone in the
technology field should make these platform.
And there should be a mechanism especially people with
disabilities are really expensive.
There should be a government mechanism to provide these
devices free of cost or at a subsidized rate.
And also for hearing impaired persons there should be sign
language interpretation otherwise there is a big
communication gap.
So these technologies, technology is good because it assists
people with disabilities like us to work equally capable as
you do.
>> It's the technology that does this stuff.
We're training people with disabilities and especially
people with non-disabilities to using software and other
assistive devices.
Make them accessible and also you know it's make it
inclusive.
Make it a meaningful inclusion.
For example, now all of these new phones, smart phones, in
the phone itself the inbuild, IOS the voice is always there.
The only thing you have to do is activate it.
And when it comes to all of these banking systems, the ATM
machines.
The ATM machines most of them got international standard.
The voice software is built in.
But when it's come to their country and used they are
deactivated most of these banks.
There should be a proper mechanism standards or guidelines
to have these technology to be used by everyone. You never
know when you will become a person with disability.
I was not born a blind person.
I became vision impaired in my late 20s.
I know the difference in society and now the way I'm living.
That is why it's very important and the thing is people
tonight think about it.
-- don't think about it.
Have these mechanisms and features inbuilt into the system
for whoever it works for low vision person accessing a
website.
If he or she wants a color for a low vision person it's
black background and white letters.
Increase the phone size and Zoom it and then read it. Have
those systems inbuilt in.
And whoever wants it can activate it.
And use if.
>> Thank you for the talk.
I'm waiting home from Taiwan.
And I'm interested in terms of connectivity.
Things in Taiwan we're also facing the period of pandemic,
some children don't have the connectivity in terms of
internet and they have a contract with the carrier to
provide free sim card for those children. I think in that
case the government played a role to lower the price. I'm
wondering if there is any kind of mechanism from your
speakers' country your government does the same job like
this.
Or there is no financial or help from the government?
>> In sha reLanka is for hearing impaired persons they need
the video call.
The data is very high for them at least to give them a su
subsidized rate.
I'm happy about Thailand.
We have done several but we have not succeeded in Sri Lanka.
>> In India the government is giving free laptops to
student.
But there is no subsidized rate.
And they need to go for data connectivity with their
personal funds.
>> The cost comparatively is okay.
>> Hello good morning, I'm James from the Philippines.
Even before the pandemic we had problemses with
connectivetive.
I want to know, the pandemic hit ever country.
Even here in southeast Asia.
How can we further encourage the government sector and the
private sector to invest in the technology.
Given that the technology is quite costly and especially on
that matter.
>> If I answered that question, yes there should be a proper
from the government, the government mechanism and in our
private sector as well.
So if there to have a proper mechanism that is because even
in Sri Lanka most of these places they don't have the data
connectivity, in restaurants the new technology and
connectivity.
Still in Sri Lanka we're facing a difficulty with
connectivity.
There should be a proper government mechanism to have this
connectivity.
After the pandemic and with the pandemic the usage online
and connectivity increases.
And also increasing the facilities does not mean increasing

prices of the activities there.
All of those mechanisms should come from policy level. Not

only from the government but the private sector as well.
Proper monitoring mechanism and proper implementation should
also be there.
>> I agree, so, specifically in government level. There
should be a kind of proper framework for all of the
governments not only the world level in should be a proper
framework. There should be a proper framework to identify
what sort of problems they are tossing.
-- facing and we
should have proper mechanisms on how to work on these
problems. I think the concerns we have to think about in a

global level. And then we can implement those things.
And there should be proper mechanisms to monitor if things
are happening properly?
>> Thank you.
>> Also at forums like this.
We're discussing this connectivity and all of the credit
should go to the government.
Representation from the government level at these forums are
important.
Then they will identify key role what their role is when it
is come to internet connectivity and/or mechanisms.
In India they support people with data connectivity and
other things.
As you said the government has to come in or has to step in.
There should be proper policies around the world.
Maybe as a community we can give representation so the
government picks it up and gives support for these kind of
issues.
Any o other questions?
Anything else you want to add on?
Okay. Thanks a lot for all of your idea and your qu questions.
I think we have to go together for trust and to represent
people we need to make some representation to our
governments we need a framework for the government to help
us all with the disabled students.
Thank you. [Applause].