Office of Students with Special Needs Celebrates World Disability Day 2016

 

The Office of the Students with Special Needs (OSSN) of the University of Ghana last December commemorated the 2016 World Disability Day at a colourful event at the grounds of the OSSN. The celebration saw in attendance senior members, invited guests from the various associations of disabled persons, students from the University and Mampong Secondary Technical School for the Deaf.

In her opening address, the coordinator of the OSSN, Dr. Awo Mana Asiedu expressed her appreciation to the University, especially management, University of Ghana Computing Systems, Korean Centre of the Balme Library, Ghana Federation of Persons with Disabilities, Material Resource Centre, Careers and Counselling Centre and the Department of Social Work for their support.

She noted how the learning experiences of students with visual and hearing disabilities have been improved with the use of computers in conducting their examination. She congratulated 17 students who graduated from the University of Ghana this year, with two of them obtaining first class degrees.

 Dr. Asiedu also noted that a documentary will be released soon by a film maker, in collaboration with the office, in addition to putting in place, an official website linked to the University website.  Dr. Asiedu further called on management of the University to consider the expansion of the OSSN and requested the University to make facilities user-friendly for disabled students in addition to providing them with transport suitable for use by such students.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Francis Nunoo, chaired the function. He said the University of Ghana is committed to helping students with special needs achieve higher education. He also promised that the offices of the OSSN will soon be expanded and gave assurance to advocate for the creation of a Campus Association of Students with Special Needs (CASSN). He urged the students to continue to strive to make their lives easier and better.

A special message delivered by Dr. Tina Naami, a lecturer at the Department of Social Work, gave insights about her own experiences growing up with Polio since age two.  She urged the students not to despair because of challenges they may face and advised the students to take their studies seriously and with determination and hard work to ensure they achieve their goals.

There was a solidarity message from the Occupational Therapists Association (OTA), comprising students from the University of Ghana Korle-Bu Campus. The President of the Association, Miss Sabina Adonteng, noted that they seek to make their clients independent.  She said the Association was working hard to assist students with disabilities so they can aspire to their goals in obtaining a higher level of education.

As part of the celebration, three special awards were presented to the students. The award winners received parcels and cash prices to boost the students to do more and inspire others to pursue greater heights. The awards were presented to three people.  The first award was presented to Mr. Awudu Kudus for being the best graduating student in this years’ congregation.

The International Day of Persons with Disability was instituted by the United Nations in 1991. The theme for the 2016 World Disability Day celebration was “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future we want”.