Semarang – The right to access education is a right for every Indonesian citizen, including those with visual impairments. Just like sighted individuals, the visually impaired have the same rights. When the intention to pursue higher education crosses their minds, every visually impaired person has the right to realize that desire. This is certainly in line with the higher education programs continuously promoted to improve the quality and capacity of visually impaired individuals in Indonesia.
To realize the dream of visually impaired individuals to access higher education, one private university (PTS) in Semarang City offers educational scholarships for the visually impaired across Indonesia, especially in Central Java Province. This private university (PTS) is Dian Nuswantoro University (UDINUS), which has been accepting visually impaired students since 2007, making them part of this IT-based campus.
In fact, UDINUS's openness to the visually impaired stems from an IT collaboration between UDINUS and the Central Java Regional Board of the Indonesian Association of the Blind (PERTUNI). Since the 1990s, UDINUS, which was then still a college, has intensively collaborated with DPD PERTUNI Central Java, providing facilities and infrastructure such as computers and computer labs, as well as expert personnel to assist DPD PERTUNI Central Java, particularly in IT matters.
Subsequently, this collaboration evolved into an educational scholarship partnership between UDINUS and DPD PERTUNI Central Java, where every visually impaired student from across Indonesia studying at UDINUS would receive tuition fee reductions. UDINUS would alleviate the tuition costs for visually impaired students, from building fees and semester credit unit (SKS) fees each semester until they graduate from UDINUS.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that visually impaired students are entirely free of financial obligations, as there are still fees they must pay, such as registration fees, module payment fees each semester ranging from Rp. 20,000 to Rp. 80,000, and polyclinic fees. Of course, these costs are significantly lighter compared to full tuition fees at a university.
For the scholarship application procedure, every visually impaired person from all corners of Indonesia needs to submit a recommendation request to DPD PERTUNI Central Java, as they are the collaborating party with UDINUS. After this recommendation request is forwarded to UDINUS by DPD PERTUNI Central Java and approved by the rector, prospective visually impaired students proceed with the registration process independently, just like regular students.
Prospective students from outside Semarang City must arrange their own accommodation, as UDINUS does not provide dormitories or housing. Furthermore, daily living expenses while studying in Semarang City must also be borne by the individual student. Nevertheless, prospective visually impaired students need not worry, as there are many boarding houses around the UDINUS campus that students can reside in, tailored to their respective budgets.
Since the commencement of this educational scholarship collaboration in 2007, several visually impaired individuals have become part of UDINUS. Unfortunately, some of these individuals missed the opportunity provided by UDINUS, resulting in the first cohort only successfully graduating 2 visually impaired students in 2011 and 2013. Both visually impaired individuals graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) with a major in English Literature.
Then, in 2011, a visually impaired student enrolled and was registered as a student of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) with a major in Business Management. In addition to this visually impaired student in the Business Management program, two other visually impaired students followed in 2012. The success of these visually impaired students studying at UDINUS, despite the not-yet-very-high degree of inclusiveness, apparently encouraged two more visually impaired students to join in 2013.
Thus, the number of visually impaired individuals still pursuing education at UDINUS is recorded at 5, with 4 of them from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) majoring in English Literature. Currently, these visually impaired students pursue their studies at UDINUS through independent efforts. This is because UDINUS does not yet have a Disability Services Center, unlike some other universities with visually impaired students.
They study relying on personal laptops, although computers equipped with screen readers are provided in laboratories and administrative offices. Regarding access to materials, these visually impaired students rely on soft files provided by lecturers or perform independent scanning at their respective homes. Another method used to access materials is through independent Google searches by the students themselves.
So far, the English Literature program has accepted the most visually impaired students because it is indeed the most accessible major for them. Thus, the presence of UDINUS as a university that is not only willing to accept visually impaired students but also provides financial relief to them, feels like a breath of fresh air amidst the strong rejection of visually impaired individuals by other universities.
Furthermore, what UDINUS has done seems to reflect that there's no need to wait for a large number of visually impaired individuals in our environment just to extend a helping hand. What UDINUS has done should ideally serve as an example for other universities across Indonesia, especially State Universities (PTN), because if UDINUS, a private university (PTS), is aware of its obligations, then state universities should certainly do the same.