WITH the Disabilities Act set to take effect next month, one senior attorney is imploring the education and transport sectors to not be caught flat-footed.

Attorney-at-law Anthony Williams says Sections 26, 27, 28 and 40 speaks to changes both sectors will have to make when the Disabilities Act is enacted on February 14.

“Section 26 speaks to education and training. The Act says education and training institutions shall not deny a person with a disability from being enrolled at the institution. So, whether it is university, college, high school, prep school, primary school and the likes, Section 26 covers that. You can’t prevent or use as a bar the fact that a person has a disability so they cannot enrol at the institution,” Williams said.

The attorney also pointed out that education or training institutions will also have to provide support necessary in relation to that institution for people with disabilities.

“Once you take in those students it means that the facilities have to be adjusted so that proper support is given. You have ramps, possibly elevators. If you have elevators, possibly elevators with audio. It also says that a student of the institution must not be placed at any disadvantage. So, it means therefore that the school is going to come under very serious scrutiny,” Williams said.

Regarding examinations, Williams said Section 27 states that a person who conducts training examinations in relation to licensing or certification shall ensure that the examination for courses offered are conducted in a place, in a manner and with facilities accessible to people with disabilities.

“You have people, those who are slow readers, people who are visually impaired, people who may have an amputation of one of the limbs. You then have to provide an environment which is conducive for that person not to be at a disadvantage, so you may have a reader/writer, for example, to assist the student who is visually impaired. You may change the structure of the examination. So you have a biology exam. How could you be asking a student who is visually impaired to draw the heart and label it? It is just not sensible, practical or rational,” he said.

He added: “It also imposes an obligation on the minister responsible for education under section 28. The minister who has responsibility for education shall provide reasonable arrangements within the education system in order to facilitate the education of people with disabilities. Therefore an extra task, responsibility or burden, if I may say, is placed on the minister to ensure people with disabilities are protected and it must be in conjunction with Section 3 of the Act which deals with the objectives.”

Further, Williams said the minister with responsibility for public passenger vehicles (PPV) is tasked with ensuring, as far as is practicable, the provision of PPV that are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.

This includes any passenger vehicle or mode of transport by road, air, rail or water that provides the general public with a general or special transportation.

“The minister responsible for transportation now has a responsibility to ensure that vehicles are either retrofitted or new vehicles are brought in to accommodate people with disabilities. I have been to the USA and the big buses, each have a ramp and you dare not go before a person with a disability. Rain, sunshine, snow, you jolly well wait until that ramp comes down and they are placed in the vehicle. There is an onus on the person with portfolio for transportation.

“The minister responsible for transportation would have to take steps to ensure that, going forward, either we introduce a new transportation system with these requirements, or something. The same way COVID-19 has created a new dimension and a very fluid environment with rapid changes, it means too that the minister responsible for transportation would have to go on some rapid changes as the Act, Section 40, speaks to taking care of people with disabilities,” Williams said.

— Kimberley Hibbert