Ministry of Social Solidarity Launches Diploma in Visual Disability

The Ministry of Social Solidarity has announced its launch of Egypt’s first postgraduate diploma specialising in visual disability. The programme hopes to expand the number of professionals in the country to advise policy on how to better integrate the visually impaired, and to expand the study of best practice regarding movement and education for them. The diploma will be taught with curricula from Western Michigan University in the USA, and will be taught in Arabic at Nile University.

The ministry’s Ataa Fund is involved in furthering equal education opportunities for the visually impaired, training school children in movement and mobility through the use of white canes.

In efforts to provide equal access at universities, Ataa Fund has also installed 440 metre palm walkers at five faculties at Zagazig University to ensure their movement is not obstructed. The fund is involved further in 70 schools in Assiut and Cairo, ensuring the availability of white canes and other technology to help the visually impaired, and training school children to read and write using Braille.