Breaking Barriers: Navigating higher education with disabilities

In a country built for able-bodied people, disregarding the existence of those whose realities are different, these obstacles are only the beginning. Photo: Courtesy

The first day back to campus after a break is always nerve-wracking. After all, a new semester brings new challenges and expectations.

Rahim Bhuiyan had always been an independent individual. But for him, the worries before a new semester were different. He needed to assess the route to his classes, checking if it was wheelchair-friendly. He did not need to worry about checking for disability-friendly chairs and tables - they were never available to begin with.

In fact, when Rahim started applying to universities, he had his heart set on a prestigious public university. But it only took one look at the facilities available around the campus for Rahim to know that he had to look for new options.

In the 12-minute and 28-second short documentary titled 'Breaking Barriers,' Rahim describes how his life has always been difficult. "It's like climbing Everest."

In a country built for able-bodied people, disregarding the existence of those whose realities are different, these obstacles are only the beginning.

Students rely on their classroom, peers, and mentors to cultivate the optimal environment for learning. Unfortunately, the reality for those who live with disabilities is different, and the uphill battle only gets more difficult as they reach higher education.

A team of four students from Brac University created a short documentary to highlight the reality of those living with disabilities while pursuing higher education. Umma Maimuna Alam, managing editor at OSUN and Teaching Assistant at Brac, produced and wrote the story, while Partho Protim Chowdhury, line producer at HASH and Film Core at OSUN, directed it. Atiqur Rahman Priom and Iftear Hasan Tanvir, both current students, were also involved in the production. The project was done under the guidance of their faculty advisor Dina Hossain, a senior lecturer of Brac, who was also the executive producer of the documentary.

The project went on to receive a grant from OSUN, also known as the Open Society University Network. OSUN is a global network of educational institutions that works to foster civic engagement and broaden access to global higher education while advancing knowledge.

When the grant was first announced, Maimuna and the rest were still indecisive about the concepts they wanted to explore. But once they discovered Rahim's story through Tanvir, they knew what their story would be about.

The focus on higher education

Rahim's story was unlike others. Rahim remains adamant about being independent in a world that works against him. But what made his story so unique was the insight his experiences provided on individuals living with disabilities in the formative years of their time pursuing higher studies. It magnifies a larger problem in the education system and institutions.

For Maimuna and the group, as students themselves, it only felt natural to shed light on this topic.

"We decided on focusing on higher education in Bangladesh particularly as we felt like it felt more personal to us, so we could explore this angle," shared Maimuna.

Once Maimuna commenced her research process, she was met with the first hurdle of a string of challenges: a huge information gap.

"Most of the research I came across was limited to the primary education of students with disabilities. A majority of individuals don't reach higher education."

According to a national survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) between the years 2021 and 2022, only 1.57% of primary students with disabilities ended up completing 12th grade.

This number paints a jarring image of why the topic of education of people living with disabilities needs awareness. While overall facilities remain scarce, these few resources whittle down even further as they enter higher education.

"Students living with disabilities face huge obstacles when it comes to higher education. Even if we speak about students with visual disabilities, Bangla braille has not been sufficiently developed to accommodate subjects like mathematics and science," shared Sabrina Sultana, activist of the Movement for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the founder of KRISHTY and B-SCAN.

A lack of accessibility in classrooms

For Rahim, there are no separate chairs and tables to accommodate his needs in a classroom. Before Brac moved to its new and improved campus, Rahim had to wait for a friend or security guard to help him up the steps to the campus that had no ramp.

Educational institutions lack trained staff, resources, and infrastructure to empower those who live with disabilities.

According to Bangladesh's law, 12 types of disabilities are recognised. Each disability needs different facilities accordingly, however, in reality, very few of these facilities are available.

When it comes to showing inclusivity, most institutes and organisations present generous figures in the form of funds. However, only the bare minimum of support exists on the ground, such as ramps for wheelchairs.

"It is not like money is not important. It is, but it is also important to question the effectiveness of the funds. Despite there being enough funds, there is a lack of effectiveness that comes from the lack of distribution," shared Maimuna.

In an article by Sultana on The Daily Star, she raises more questions about the education sector.

"While Braille books are provided for students with visual disabilities, they are not effectively distributed, and the absence of standardised Braille guidelines hinders their ability to study subjects like science and mathematics," wrote Sultana.

Sultana also elaborated on how this issue stems from a reluctance to abide by the policies set in place by the government.

"Students with hearing disabilities are deprived of higher education due to the lack of Bangla Sign Language interpreters and educational materials," shares Sultana. "The government is enacting various laws and policies. However,  the reality is that educational institutions are not following these laws and policies. They are not even adhering to the inclusive education policy. The state seems to have no concern about overseeing this."

The bigger problem is highlighted in Sultana's own voice in the documentary - that the education system for students with severe disabilities is under the Ministry of Social Welfare and not under the Education Ministry.

Behind the lens

When creating this documentary, the filmmakers of the team had a clear vision in their mind: they wanted to portray Rahim's life as authentically as possible.

Partho shared how he aimed to observe Rahim's life rather than to create a narrative. Upon meeting Rahim, he learned that Rahim was quite an independent individual. Wheelchair or not, nothing would stop him from riding his motorcycle to university.

Instead, Partho took a more subtle approach to displaying his challenges.

"I wanted to incorporate scenes that reflected his struggles artistically, but I didn't want them to be too direct. For example, there's a scene where Rahim watches people playing cricket, but he cannot participate in the match," shared Partho.

Creating a realistic narrative also means giving the mic to the people as well. Aside from Maimuna and her team's extensive research, they wanted people from the community to be featured in the documentary.

Two of the interviewees in the documentary include Sultana, as well as Vashkar Bhattacharjee, a National Consultant of Accessibility from A2i, who navigates life with vision disability himself.

What the future holds

After the documentary was created, the next challenge came up, which was to get it across to as many people as possible. However, the genre in itself stands as a drawback.

"Documentaries are not popular among the Bangladeshi audience," shared Maimuna. "But documentaries are also much more relatable for any person." She continued to explain that the topic of people living with disabilities is always stuck to official documents and publications. 

Maimuna's vision for the documentary is for it to be used as a resource material by NGOs and in seminars. She believes that viewing this topic through a fresh medium will help create a much more impactful experience for viewers.

In the future, she further hopes that the documentary will be interpreted as sign language, adding to the inclusivity of their documentary.

Furthermore, in light of the July-August movement, a new matter looms ahead. With students who have faced life-altering injuries working to regain normalcy, Partho and Maimuna believe it is crucial to keep this conversation alive.

Whether Maimuna and the team's documentary will live up to their vision, only the future will tell. But one thing is true, this documentary pushed viewers to learn more about people such as Rahim Bhuiyan, Sultana, and Vashkar Bhattacharjee.