Philippine university facilities for visually impaired students are inadequate, and those who have gained entrance face a lack of adequate teaching materials. These were the findings of a Nippon Foundation fact-finding mission regarding the state of visually impaired students in the Philippines. The mission was designed to help prepare for the expansion of a program for Indonesian students with visual impairments, to the Philippines and Vietnam. As in Indonesia, the need is high.

The mission interviewed 16 visually impaired students at 11 Manila universities, including the Manila Central University and the Philippine Christian University, asking about their concerns and problems in university life. Results showed that in the “soft” areas of administration and policy, universities hesitate to accept visually impaired students, and lack the expertise to do so. Similarly, infrastructure and materials—such as Braille textbooks and computers with sufficient processing power for these students’ special needs—are largely nonexistent. In discussing their life at the universities, students taking part in the interviews pointed out that the universities were “uncooperative” and that improvements were needed.(Photo: A student responds to an interview question)

Due to the lack of Braille textbooks, students say study is difficult because they need to rely on the assistance of family and friends and to resort to such measures as recording classes on cassette tapes. Christopher Tunbokon, a computer science major, said, “It’s difficult to get around campus and attend class on my own, because the university provides no support at all. I have to move around with my mother as my guide.” Del Rosario Mary Grace, a psychology student, said of studying in such a difficult environment, “I wasn’t interested in psychology originally but I had to major in it because there were no other choices.”

Since 2006, the Nippon Foundation has worked with local Indonesian NGOs, developing a range of activities to assist visually impaired students at four Indonesian universities. These include computer training, the conversion of textbooks to Braille, reading services, and information access. Support centers for visually impaired students have been established within these facilities, where computers are available with text-to-speech software and services, from counseling to course assistance, are tailored to suit students’ needs. At present, it is said that less than 10% of all visually impaired persons in Asia receive primary education, and less than 1% study at universities or other facilities. For this reason, the Nippon Foundation, in partnership with the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) and local NGOs, is working to expand its assistance in this field to the Philippines and Vietnam as well.(Photo: A student studying in an assistance room)