Sri Lankan disabled students far more motivated than Australian counterparts
With the advancement in technology and resources, it is the non-disabled society that gets the privilege of experiencing them. However, there is also a society that is eagerly waiting (or have already done) to experience the latest technological trends by a mere touch – the visually impaired.
The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) recently rewarded visually impaired ICT trainees at the EFC auditorium in Rajagiriya in which around 30 students had performed well and obtained good results, enabling them to join leading IT firms in the country.
Speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the event, EFC Co-ordinator of the network on disability, Ms. Tanya Warnakulasuriya said, “Today technology has advanced and it is not an optional item anymore; it’s a part of everyday life. A lot of disabled persons already use mobile phones. It’s the case of opening up themselves and thinking out of the box.” The ability of disabled persons is that they are already incredibly innovative and flexible and it is the ability to do the job correctly regardless of the disability, she noted.
Dr. Iain Murray, Senior Lecturer and Course Co-ordinator from the Curtain University of Technology in Australia told the Business Times that accepting the person by who they are would reduce the gap between the disabled and non-disabled. The disabled does things differently, completely different to a non-disabled person, it’s the way they approach things.
He noted that in Sri Lanka, the disabled students are far more motivated than in Australia. People should complement and further motivate that confidence by giving them the opportunities to learn and access to the technology they need to be able to use the equipment.
Dr. Sohan Dharmaraja, a US-qualified researcher, speaking to Business Times explained about a software application in an iPad which could be used by the visually impaired students. The software application was technically simple but the amount of work put in was immense. He also said that leveraging the networking in the country would reduce the space between the disabled and non-disabled. The disability of a person is determined by the persons’ reactions to a particular situation and not the situation the person is in. Also technology plays a vital role in shortening the gap between the disabled and non-disabled, he noted.
EFC Director General, Ravi Pieris in his welcome address stressed that employment opportunities should be provided to everyone irrespective of race, religion or physical disability. The EFC disability network was set up with the objective of providing the disabled students a chance of learning and an equal opportunity of entering into productive employment. The challenge to employers is to explore all possibilities of trying to give the disabled students an opportunity to work or to be engaged as trainees in their organisations.