Minister Blade Nzimande will address needs of blind students

Challenges facing visually impaired learners are no secret. These challenges are magnified to a greater extent within the FET and HET sectors where only a select few visually impaired learners have access to any kind of tertiary education and training.

The South African National Council for the Blind held a successful meeting with the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, and other high level staff. The challenges facing visually impaired students were discussed and the minister expressed his disappointment at the lack of access to tertiary facilities experienced by these students. The minister Nzimande also indicated that a large portion of bursaries for visually impaired students, remained unapplied for.

Minister Nzimande has promised to look into the challenges and to ensure that visually impaired learners are afforded greater access to further or higher education.