Raggie Jessy
GELUGOR: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) did the nation proud today by proving that disability wasn’t an obstacle for one to excel in education – with action, not words.
A report by Bernama cited the case of A. Mahavithia, a visually impaired girl aspiring to be an educator, who was chosen to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Literature programme in the university.
From Ipoh, Perak, Mahavithia, who has been visually impaired since the age of 11, chose USM after rejecting a number of offers from other universities.
“My mother passed away when I was five years old due to cancer while my father died when I was still a baby,” she said when met at the registration session for new intake at USM here today.
After being orphaned following her mother’s death, her aunt, a factory worker took care of her.
“At first my aunt was reluctant to allow me to study here because of the distance and my physical condition but she relented after seeing how ardent my interest is in literature.
“The university is really OKU-friendly, it provides academic material in braille for students like me,” she said, adding, she also had a laptop with a voice guide application that came in handy.
Meanwhile, another OKU student, Muhammad Aslam Abdul Aziz, 21, a local here, and who also registered for the same programme concurred that USM was among the universities that were ‘very OKU-friendly’.
“I also considered the distance factor, as my right leg is permanently disabled due to an accident four years ago. So USM is the right and best choice for me,” he said.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Asma Ismail delivered a keynote address to welcome the new 2017/2018 intake.
Adapted from: Bernama
