Abstract:

This study explored the technical challenges and psychological implications that are experienced by students with disability. The paper was triggered by the introduction of online teaching and learning as a concomitant part of COVID-19 that affected and still affecting the whole world. Kamga (2021: 1) concurs that the COVID-19 pandemic poses one of the severest global challenges that the world has in recent times experienced. In terms of this article, the civil rights law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life (jobs, school, transportation and all spaces open to the general public) to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access and availability as anyone else. The researcher´s view is supported by McKinney, McKinney and Swartz (2020) when expressing that disabled people experience discrimination and hardship in all spheres of life, including employment, education and access to healthcare. What problematizes the current article is the lack of coordinated plan in the South African Higher Education landscape to deal with the technical challenges that may be experienced by students with disabilities; particularly when it comes to online teaching and learning.

The study was conducted at a selected South African University of Technology (UoT) that is based in the Gauteng Province. The study employed a qualitative approach where face-to-face interviews were used as a qualitative method of data collection. For the purpose of this paper, 100 participants were selected to participate in the study. Eighty (8) participants were students from the following faculties: Humanities, Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Engineering and Built Environment, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Management Sciences. It is important to mention that the selected students were those living with disability and majority of them were in their first year of study. Fifteen (15) lecturers from the above-mentioned faculties who were also involved in teaching first-year modules were also invited to take part in the study. In addition, five practitioners from the Disability Unit/Lab/Centre were also invited to participate in the study.

The study found that significant majority of student (disabled) participants articulated that they were and still disadvantaged during online teaching and learning. The participants reasoned that the quality of teaching and learning that they receive is not the same with the one that is received by normal students. The student participants further articulated that they are also affected during written assessments. In this context, the students argued that some of the special arrangements such as additional time and font enlargement of question papers that is normally done during face-to-face teaching and learning are easily forgotten by some of the academic staff members. In addition, poor communication between lecturers and practitioners/support staff members from the Disability Unit/Lab/Centre was also cited as one of the qualitative variables. In encapsulation of the findings, the student participation articulated that online teaching and learning may be beneficial to the students with disability, if there is consistent and sufficient intervention from the relevant stakeholders: University, lecturers and support staff members from the Disability Unit/Lab/Centre as well as those from the Finance division.

Keywords:

Covid-19, online teaching and learning, students with disability, assessments.