There is no denying that students with disabilities attending the University of Guyana [UG] are faced with various challenges as they seek to pursue higher education. But there is hope on the horizon for these students.
This development manifested Monday when the Guyana Council of Organisation for Persons with Disabilities [GCOPD] was granted substantial financial support intended to help address these existing challenges.
According to information filtered to this publication, with funding from Tropical Shipping, a business entity situated at Lombard Street, Georgetown, the learning experience of students with disabilities attending UG is slated to be soon enhanced.
Tropical Shipping is a shipping and logistics company said to have the fastest transit time of seven days from Florida to Guyana. Tropical Shipping also operates complete shipping services to and from Canada and across the Caribbean.

GCOPD’s Ganesh Singh accepts the financial support from a Tropical Shipping representative.

While the donated sum from the entity has not been disclosed, it was revealed that its significance will allow for the procurement of modern equipment and the relevant applications to enable students with disabilities attending UG and the Cyril Potter College of Education [CPCE] to access information in a format that will help them to conduct, research and write their exams in an efficient manner.
Among the items to be purchased are several Apple iPads with Optical Character Recognition [OCR] applications, to convert printed text into a digital accessible format; a few laptops and a 3D Printer to produce materials in three-dimension.
Disability rights advocate and GCOPD Programme Coordinator, Mr. Ganesh Singh, in accepting the support said that it was timely and therefore very much appreciated.
Singh, in expressing appreciation to Tropical Shipping, highlighted the prevailing challenges students with disabilities face daily, even as he recalled his own experience and those of other tertiary students with disabilities. Singh, who is visually impaired, is currently a student at the national university and has been attending UG for the past six years, reading for various degrees.
The equipment and applications, he said, will significantly mitigate the effects of the challenges faced by students with disabilities.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony too, Ms. Glenis Hodge, Country Manager of Tropical Shipping, said the company was happy to play a role in enhancing the learning environment of persons with disabilities, as part of the organisation’s corporate social responsibility.
Currently, GCOPD is in the process of establishing a Resource Unit for persons with disability. The organization is one that has education as one of its priority area.

Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/12/29/ug-students-with-disabilities-to-benefit-from-enhanced-learning-experience/