Protests and legal warnings from various disability groups have been directed at PTAINs (Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions) that imposed restrictions on prospective students with physical disabilities. Dede Rosyada, Director of Islamic Higher Education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, expressed his commitment to eliminating discriminatory stereotypes against people with disabilities.
He emphasized this to all levels of PTAINs, including UINs (State Islamic Universities), State Islamic Institutes, and State Islamic Colleges, especially for certain faculties and departments such as medicine and nursing. For the 2014 student admission period, PTAINs across Indonesia have prepared a quota of 42,604, and this quota is fully open to persons with disabilities.
Currently, only two PTAINs are fully equipped to accommodate students with disabilities and their specific needs: UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta.
"The majority of those who are able to participate are visually impaired individuals." "We continue to opt for inclusive classes for them so that they can integrate with other students." In the coming years, Dede pledged to provide supporting infrastructure for the education of persons with disabilities in Indonesian PTAINs, with efforts continuously made to increase funding year by year.
UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, which has already achieved the status of an inclusive higher education institution, aims to affirm that persons with disabilities receive the same opportunities as non-disabled prospective students. This is demonstrated by the presence of a Disability Services Study Center (PSDL) there, its acceptance of a significant number of students with disabilities, the provision of adequate facilities, policies that facilitate physical and non-physical accessibility, the implementation of disability-friendly lectures, and the design of inclusive, disability-sensitive learning.
In 2012, a visually impaired alumnus of UIN Sunan Kalijaga was selected to receive a full scholarship for a Master's in Comparative and International Disability Policy. In 2013, a graduate with disabilities from UIN Yogya was undergoing the selection process to follow in their senior's footsteps, aiming to become one of 15 selected individuals with disabilities in Southeast Asia.
Ro'fah added that, in addition to collaborations to enhance education for persons with disabilities, her institution also conducts research in the field of disability in cooperation with several PTAINs across Indonesia. Source: Islam Digest, Republika, Sunday, June 8, 2014 Note: Hopefully, opportunities will become even more accessible, not just here, but elsewhere.