Factors that affect the provision of visually impaired learners in higher education

It has been widely reported that 80% of potential students with disabilities are not attending a tertiary institution. Figures indicate that when provision of physically or mentally challenged students are taken into consideration, the visually impaired learners are affected the most The fact is that most tertiary institutions in South Africa do not have the required resources for facilitating the entry of visually impaired learners into their engineering programmes. The primary objective of this study is to identify the barriers that visually impaired learners in South Africa face at higher education institutions. A systematic review of current literature in this field forms the methodology for this paper. Studies related to the provision of visually impaired learners in engineering specifically IT courses, were carefully studied during this process. Negative attitude of fellow non-disabled learners, educators and institutions, lack of awareness of the staff, students and management about disability issues, minimal autonomy of disability units, lack of infrastructure, lack of financial support or funding, lack of access support services, lack of trained staff, lack of assistive resources, usage of ICTs and teaching methodologies are some of the factors that are identified as the barriers for the provision of visually impaired learners in IT courses.