SERDANG, Jan 14 — “To lack something is not an impediment for me to succeed and be on par with other students,” says visually impaired Nurul Najwa Khairunissah Hassim after graduating from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) yesterday.
Born in Terengganu, the 28-year-old Malay Literature graduate received her scroll at the university’s 44th convocation at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Arts and Culture Centre Hall.
“I first started my studies at UPM in 2016. Before that, I sat for my STPM examination at St John’s Institution, Bukit Nenas in Kuala Lumpur,” Nurul Najwa told Bernama when met after her convocation ceremony.
Nurul Najwa said she was happy to receive her scroll face to face two years after finishing her studies in 2020, this after it was delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Sharing her experience of facing challenges as a visually impaired student, Nurul Najwa said one of the barriers she had to face was to get reference materials.
“For us who are visually impaired, it’s difficult for us to get the material because most of the materials are in hardcopies.
“I need to covert the hard copies into digital or soft copies. Because of this, I need a little more time to scan and listen using the ‘screen reader’ application,” she said adding that she would also seek the help of a volunteer reader to go through her assignments.
“UPM takes great care of the welfare of the disabled students, whether they are visually impaired or physically handicapped.
“For example, this university provides facilities such as transportation for me and other disabled people to attend classes and back to our hostels,” she added.
— Bernama
