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International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed annually on 3 December to promote an understanding of disability issues and to mobilise support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities. The theme for 2022 is ‘Transformative
solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world’.
Removing barriers for persons with disabilities, the University of the Free State is committed to providing inclusive and accessible
living, teaching, and learning spaces for all.
1. Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support
Established in 2001, the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) has offices on the Bloemfontein, South, and Qwaqwa campuses. Supplementary to the academic support offered to students with disabilities, CUADS plays a vital role
in developing awareness and advocacy for persons with disabilities across all three campuses of the UFS.
The centre provides support services to students with specific learning difficulties (e.g., dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, hyperactivity); mobility impairments (e.g., wheelchair users, amputees, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis);
visual impairments (e.g., blind, partially sighted, eye conditions); hearing impairments (deaf, hard of hearing, and deafened); debilitating mental health, psychological, and other chronic conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, epilepsy, panic disorder);
and temporary impairments (e.g., a broken hand).
2. Support for hearing-impaired students
While the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support coordinates academic support for students with disabilities, the UFS also has a well-established South African Sign Language interpreting service for deaf students.
Pictured is South African Sign Language user, Tinotenda Magaya, a final-year BSc Econometrics student, signing the universal sign, ‘I love you’. (Photo: Lunga Luthuli)
3. Support for visually impaired students
With a large population of students with visual impairments, the UFS provides study material in different accessible formats, i.e., Braille.
Picture: Operating an electronic enlarger housed in all CUADS alternative assessment venues, is Antigonie Vorster, CUADS staff member responsible for the production of accessible study material, including enlarged, electronic, and Braille material. (Photo: :Lunga Luthuli)
4. Accessible and inclusive spaces
The UFS supports the principles of universal design and access, creating learning, teaching, and living environments that are welcoming and empowering for ALL students. Ongoing developments at the university to address the challenges faced by persons
with disabilities include tactile paving, ramps at the entrances of some buildings to make the premises accessible, signage inside and outside buildings, and dedicated seating in lecture rooms.
Picture: No barriers for mobility-impaired people like Victoria Sebatli, a B Social Work student. (Photo: Rulanzen Martin)
Tactile paving across campuses makes it easy for Obakeng Seikaneng, a BA Communication Studies student, to navigate UFS spaces. (Photo: Rulanzen Martin)
5. An inclusive university
In support of its goal to be an inclusive institution, the UFS has approved a number of policies, including the Universal Access Disability Support policy for students with disabilities.
On 15 November 2022, CUADS had its Strategic Planning for 2023. Aligning itself with the UFS Vision 130 and its vision of aspiring to be a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged university that contributes to development and social justice through the production of globally competitive graduates and knowledge, CUADS' new vision is to co-create an inclusive environment where CUADS would be seamlessly and holistically integrated into every part of the UFS.
Read the UFS policy on Universal Access and Disability Support for students with disabilities