Education is essential to improving opportunities and choices for people who are blind or have low vision.
With official figures released this month by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showing a decline in workforce participation among people with disability, and a strong link between education as a pathway to employment – support for education is vital.
Gabi Ringger, from Inner West Sydney , has Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, a rare genetic condition which affects the cells in her retinas at the back of her eyes. In 2014, Gabi received a Further Education Bursary from Vision Australia that provided essential adaptive technology to assist her to complete a diploma in remedial massage at Randwick TAFE.
Earlier this year Gabi received a letter from TAFE asking her to pay $978 in fees. In addition, she has been unable to enrol for the second year of her course and has been advised that, due to funding cuts, TAFE may not be able to provide her with the same level of support as she received last year.
"I have a note taker, who helps me to take down notes in class and provides a visual description of diagrams,” said Gabi who is about to start her second year. “Now I am really uncertain about my ability to complete my diploma,” she added.
In the lead up to the NSW state election, Vision Australia is seeking candidate and party support for six key election priorities (PDF, 130KB) with education as a pathway to employment at the top of the list.
Michael Simpson, Vision Australia’s General Manager for NSW, said that Gabi’s case is not isolated and emphasises why the organisation has chosen to focus on this critical issue during the election period.
“Vision Australia works with the blind and low vision community to live full and independent lives. We advocate with them to secure the necessary support and assistive technologies they need to stay in mainstream education and work towards finding fulfilling jobs,” said Michael.
“What we need is a consistent and coordinated approach to education throughout the mainstream system, starting from early childhood and continuing through to tertiary education”.
At present the situation in NSW can be described at best as a patchwork approach, leading to uncertainty about the choices available.
“The blind and low vision community should have the same opportunities and choices in the education system, and in life, as the sighted community,” he stated.
“Students need to be confident that they will be supported throughout their entire education journey to gain a qualification.”
Vision Australia is calling on candidates and parties to take a range of steps to improve education outcomes for the blind and low vision community in NSW including: providing professional development for educators to better support blind and low vision students, establishing a NSW state-wide Vision Resource Centre for a more streamlined approach to delivering technical support and assistive technology, and including people with lived experience in education policy development processes.
“Our aim is to get the decision-makers in NSW to take positive steps and ensure that the blind and low vision community are not financially disadvantaged due to limited higher education opportunities, or face discrimination when job seeking,” confirmed Michael.
Participation in the workforce by people with disability is not just a private sector issue. There has been a decline in the number of people with disability successfully entering the public sector workforce, as shown in the report released last year by the NSW Public Service Commission on ‘Disabling the Barriers’ to participation.
“We’d also like to see a declared commitment from the parties during this election period to implement the report findings and double the workforce participation of people with disability in the public sector in NSW,” Michael commented.
Vision Australia is seeking a positive commitment from NSW candidates and parties on several other identified priorities such as getting around on public transport, accessing information, and supporting service continuity for the blind and low vision community.
“A positive commitment, prior to polling day, from candidates and parties will indicate to the people of NSW who are blind or have low vision that the next Government will be actively working in their interests too,” Michael concluded.
Further information
Learn more about Vision Australia’s 2015 NSW Election Priorities