lord dominic addington writes...disabled studentd must have an equal shot at life
Last week I asked a question in the Lords on the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). The DSA allows those with a disability, a long term health condition, or dyslexia (like myself) an equal shot at higher education. The support people receive through this allowance can be vital in ensuring a student's chances of academic success aren't dictated by their disability or health, but by their effort and ability.
Like all areas of Government spending, the DSA is being examined for potential savings and to make sure money is going where it is needed most. However, my question in the Lords was inspired by the amount of confusion there is within all the groups involved in the DSA, ranging from suppliers to students, over what exactly is going to be in place once these reforms go through.
At the moment there is a great deal of fear mongering about not having sufficient resources to enable people to be able to complete their course, let alone work independently as you're supposed to in higher education. Any change that does not embrace this principle is effectively excluding certain groups unnecessarily.
Last year, Julian Huppert hosted a debate on the reforms in the Commons. He perfectly summed up the issue at hand "we are united by a belief that everybody, regardless of who they are, should be able to aspire to go to university. Regardless of disability, whether it is physical or mental, visible or invisible, there should not be a barrier as a result of it." The debate revealed all party support around concerns related to the proposed reform, reflecting the general issues raised about this matter. I feel that this shows that the DSA reform should be debated in the open before the general election.
Early on, when potential reform was being consulted on, the idea of not funding computers 'because everyone has one' clearly displayed a total lack of knowledge of the type of computing power that is required for a fairly standard bits of assistive technology. Voice recognition technology needs a fairly powerful and good computer to work properly and it doesn't go terribly well with the second-hand PC somebody has been given by their uncle (which may have been pretty good 5 years ago but doesn't quite cut it today) no matter who plays with it.
If people have got to university and underachieve or fail because they're not given, by modern standards, pretty basic support, there isn't much point in sending them there in the first place. I hope we're not going to write off a percentage of the population, losing their economic input and creating more of a drag on the rest of society.
Review and reform of the scheme is probably overdue as it was created in the early 1990s and there have been considerable advances in awareness and recognition of disabilities training techniques and assistive technology in that time but it should be underpinned by a principle, that of a fairer education system for all giving those with disabilities and equal shot at life, and not seen purely as a cost-cutting exercise.
* Lord Addington is a member of the House of Lords and vice president of the British Dyslexia Association