Behind the Dream of Studying in Saudi Arabia: International Visually Impaired Individuals' Challenges in Accessing Information

Behind the Dream of Studying in Saudi Arabia: The Challenges Faced by International Visually Impaired Students in Accessing Educational Information

While educational information is readily available to some, for visually impaired individuals, finding a simple answer about overseas study opportunities can sometimes turn into a long journey fraught with uncertainty.

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that holds great appeal for Muslim students from various parts of the world. Besides being home to the two holy cities, Makkah and Madinah, the country also boasts several universities that are popular destinations for international students.

For some Indonesian students, the opportunity to pursue education in Saudi Arabia is not merely about obtaining an academic degree. Some wish to deepen their religious knowledge, learn Arabic, or seek knowledge in an environment they have only known through books, studies, and various media.

However, for prospective visually impaired students from outside Saudi Arabia, the journey towards such opportunities presents its own unique challenges.

It's not simply due to a lack of desire to learn.

Nor is it due to a lack of ability.

One of the rather fundamental issues is the difficulty in obtaining clear information regarding the admission mechanisms for international students with disabilities.

Searching for Information from Social Media to Chat Groups

I experienced this myself.

When I began searching for information about the possibility of pursuing education in Saudi Arabia as a visually impaired person from Indonesia, I realized that the information I needed was not always clearly available on official university websites.

I then tried to find information through various channels.

One such channel was following the Instagram account of the Indonesian Students and Youth Association (PPMI) Saudi Arabia. I hoped to gain technical insights from Indonesian students already there, especially regarding the registration process, student life, and the potential availability of services for students with disabilities.

I also joined a chat group specifically for akhwat or women. The group consisted of members from various backgrounds, with two male administrators managing it.

I tried asking directly about the possibility of admission for students with disabilities, particularly those who are visually impaired.

However, the question went unanswered.

I then tried to contact the relevant parties privately via WhatsApp. I also sent a direct message on Instagram to PPMI Saudi Arabia.

Still, I received no response.

For some, not getting a message reply might be a minor issue. But for someone seeking educational information in another country, a lack of response can mean losing the only way to know the next step.

Trying the PPMI Raidah Channel

I didn't stop there.

I then followed the PPMI Raidah account, which specifically caters to Indonesian female students and scholars in Saudi Arabia.

Each time the account posted information, I tried to pay attention and look for opportunities to ask questions. I even commented and mentioned their account several times, hoping that questions regarding education for people with disabilities would receive attention.

However, once again, I did not receive the answer I was hoping for.

This experience made me realize one thing: having access to social media doesn't always mean having access to information.

We can find their Instagram account.

We can send messages.

We can write questions.

But if there's no response, prospective students still don't know where to go next.

When the Desire to Study is Met with Rejection

During this information search, I also tried contacting a study community related to education in the Middle East.

I explained that I am a visually impaired person from Indonesia with a desire to pursue education in Saudi Arabia, specifically at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah.

My hope was simple: I wanted to know how to contact the university and whether there was a possibility for international visually impaired students to apply.

However, I received a reply stating that they could not help.

What made me even more confused was not just the answer, but the lack of sufficient explanation as to why they couldn't help connect me or provide information to me and other visually impaired friends.

At a certain point, experiences like this can make one wonder:

Is the opportunity truly non-existent, or have we just not found the door?

That question continued to push me to search on my own.

Trying the Official University Channel

After various attempts through Indonesian student communities and networks yielded no results, I then tried to find the official university channels.

One of the universities I contacted was Umm Al-Qura University or UQU in Makkah.

From its official website, I found that prospective inquirers could be directed to the section related to student admissions. There was also a form allowing individuals to fill in personal details, such as name, nationality, email address, and the question they wished to submit.

After submitting a question, one would receive a registration or queue number, which would then be communicated via email. The university's response was also supposed to be sent through this channel.

For me, the existence of such a system was actually a positive thing.

At least there was an official channel.

There was a form.

There was a registration number.

There was a mechanism to submit questions.

However, the problem was not yet solved.

As of the writing of this post, I still have not received the official answer I hoped for regarding the admission mechanism for international visually impaired students.

This is where I again encountered a larger issue: every university has different policies and conditions.

Information about one university cannot simply be assumed to apply to another.

A Friend's Experience: Almost Giving Up on Finding Answers

It turned out I wasn't the only one who experienced this.

I have a friend, let's call her L, who is also visually impaired and wishes to pursue education in Saudi Arabia.

She wanted to know how to contact Taibah University in Madinah Al-Munawwarah.

In the process of seeking information, she felt she received an unhelpful response when trying to inquire through PPMI Raidah. She actually only needed simple guidance: how to contact the target university?

However, when the needed answer was not forthcoming, she almost gave up.

Since we both shared the desire to pursue education and understood the difficulty of finding such information, I tried to help her as much as possible.

Fortunately, technological advancements made finding official contacts a bit easier.

University social media accounts could be found. Email addresses could also be searched. From there, we tried bypassing student and community channels and directly asked the university.

Some time later, I received news from L that she had successfully communicated directly with Taibah University.

The answer she received, however, opened up new problems.

The university stated that they currently do not have a clear understanding of the admission mechanisms for international students with disabilities. According to the information L received, Taibah University also has no prior experience admitting international students with disabilities.

This was a rather significant finding.

This means the problem isn't just that prospective students don't know where to apply. Educational institutions themselves may still need to prepare clearer mechanisms if they wish to open access for prospective students with disabilities from abroad.

Umm Al-Qura and Taibah University: Two Different Situations

My experience with Umm Al-Qura University also showed a slightly different situation.

At Umm Al-Qura, there is a service channel that allows one to access the section related to student admissions. However, to gain certain further access, there is a condition requiring one to already have student status or an account within the university system.

For prospective international students who haven't even been admitted yet, such a condition certainly presents a unique challenge.

Another possibility is to ask for help from someone who is already a student at that university.

The problem is, I myself have not yet found a student who can help connect me directly with the relevant parties.

From this, it's clear that the issue is not just about the presence or absence of facilities for people with disabilities.

There's another equally important issue: how can prospective visually impaired students from abroad find their entry point?

Meanwhile, for Taibah University in Madinah, there is a possibility that in the future, educational access for international students with disabilities may become more open. However, at present, there are also other challenges, including the unavailability of general scholarship programs that are usually accessible through the Study in Saudi portal during the period I was seeking information for.

Thus, prospective students not only need to seek information regarding disabilities but also must keep up with the developments in admission and scholarship programs, which can change over time.

When Information Becomes Part of Accessibility

This experience made me see that educational accessibility should not only be discussed from the perspective of physical facilities.

When discussing visually impaired students, we often imagine access to Braille, screen readers, digital books, or on-campus assistance.

All of that is indeed important.

But there's one form of accessibility that is often overlooked:

access to information before one becomes a student.

How does a visually impaired person know that a university is open for applications?

How do they know if the university accepts international students with disabilities?

Whom should they ask?

Is there a special channel?

Are disability documents required?

Is the selection process different?

Are support services available after admission?

And equally important, can this information be accessed using a screen reader?

These questions should have easily discoverable answers.

Not Asking for Special Treatment

The desire of visually impaired students to obtain information does not mean asking for special treatment.

What is needed is the opportunity to know the same procedures as other prospective students, in the form of accessible and understandable information.

A prospective visually impaired student may not need a different path to reach the campus.

They only need a door they can find.

And when that door exists, they need information on how to open it.

For prospective international students, this issue becomes even more complex as they must contend with differences in language, education systems, document requirements, culture, and immigration and foreign student admission regulations.

If compounded by a lack of information regarding disabilities, the journey becomes much longer.

Hope for More Open Education

I am not writing this experience to blame universities, student organizations, communities, or any specific parties.

On the contrary, I hope this experience can serve as an illustration of the challenges that prospective students with disabilities from other countries might face.

Saudi Arabia has many educational institutions that are a dream for international students. Therefore, information regarding study opportunities for people with disabilities also needs to become more open and easily accessible.

Universities can provide dedicated pages explaining services for prospective students with disabilities.

Indonesian student organizations in Saudi Arabia can serve as an information bridge for prospective students from Indonesia.

Educational communities can also help direct prospective students to official university contacts, without having to promise anything beyond their authority.

And most importantly, prospective visually impaired students should not be forced to search for information through dozens of channels just to get one simple answer.

Because ultimately, access to education begins with access to information.

The dream of studying in Saudi Arabia may still be a long one for me and other visually impaired friends.

But we don't want to stop just because we haven't found the way yet.

We will keep searching.

Contacting.

Asking.

And trying again.

Because sometimes, what's needed to unlock an opportunity isn't an easier path, but clear information about where the door is.