In Korea, over 80% of high school graduates go on to university. However, only 11% of disabled people went to university in 2011. According to Statistics Korea, there are 2.15 million disabled people registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare for 2012. The number of disabled has steadily increased and it draws attention to welfare and education rights for them. The enforcement decree of the higher education stipulates that in cases of handicapped persons eligible for education , there should be additional admission quota. The Act on special education for disabled persons also promises that the head of the university must actively seek and provide any measure for the convenience of all educational activities for disabled students. Despite these articles in the laws, many schools still don't observe these laws that have been mentioned. The Kookmin Review looked at the welfare for the disabled regarding education and found out how Kookmin University addresses these issues. In order to figure out the case of Kookmin University, the reporter visited the Disabled Student Support Center located in The Student Union on the third floor. She met Officer Kim Jee-In, and interviewed professor Yang Min-Wha in the department of Education via e-mail.

The current welfare system for disabled students in KMU

The officer in charge of the center says that she hopes students feel free to come to the center and ask for help.

Disabled Student Support Center at KMU
KMU has a Disabled Student Support Center located in the Student Union on the third floor. The Kookmin Review visited the center and met Kim Jee-In, the officer of Disabled Students Support Center. “According to the website ‘Higher Education in Korea’ (www.academyinfo.go.kr), Kookmin University presently has two disabled students out of 15,180 students. However, the data was posted according to the survey conducted in the first semester. This semester, eight disabled undergraduate students have enrolled at KMU, and if the number of graduate students and undergraduate students are combined, the total comes to twelve students,” Kim started the interview. "Every so often, it’s hard to track how many disabled students there are and how many need our help because students tend not to disclose their disabilities and tend to hesitate to ask for help.  Assessing how many students need our help is our first job." said Kim.

The reporter asked more details about the work in the Disabled Student Support Center. "We also look into the things that other universities do for their disabled students, for example, how they provide educational support such as facilities, learning materials, assistive technology services and academic accommodation. We also research entrance policies from other universities regarding students with disabilities," said Kim. Last May, Disabled Student Support Center held a lecture on improving perceptions towards people with disabilities. She added: “We also participate in the policy forum on the students with disabilities.”

Soon the center will draw up next year’s budget based on what they are going to do and how they will provide help. They are waiting for students to state their needs and give comments to the center. “The welfare system and convenience facilities for disabled students at KMU still have room for improvement. We are always ready to provide educational support and materials whenever students need them,” said Kim. For instance, in the first semester, a physically disabled student requested an assistant who could carry his bags and take them to class from the parking lot; the center got an assistant from among his classmates.

She ended her interview by again requesting students. “I hope students feel free to ask for help and come to our center.” She said that the center is willing to purchase assistive tools whenever students need them.

Disabled Student Support Center
Location: Third floor of the Student Union
Tel: 02)910-5001
Office hours: 9:00AM-5:00PM