The impact of Covid-19 on students with disabilities' access to education in South Africa

Abstract

The paper used Critical Disability Theory to unpack the impact of Covid-19 on students with disabilities' learning in South African higher education. Data were collected by analysing and synthesising South African and international literature available in Google Scholar, ProQuest, books, journal articles and online resources. The finding was that students with disabilities were excluded in their learning before Covid-19, and the pandemic only exacerbated their exclusion. It was proposed that incorporating the principles of the Universal
Design for Learning into the teaching practice, and training academic staff on its implementation, might be an effective intervention to enable inclusion; not only of students with disabilities, but also all diverse students in the South African higher education context, and in Africa at large. In addition, extensive consultation on students with disabilities' lived experience can assist in their inclusion, as they know what they need in terms of learning. Also, a 'new normal', as resulting from the response to Covid-19, was presented and how it
can be of benefit to students with disabilities' learning

Keywords: Covid-19, Critical Disability Studies, Higher education, Learning, South Africa, Students with disabilities.