An inspirational University of Pretoria student has received his degree with distinctions, while studying a little bit differently to other students,
Zak Claasen studied in the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and has completed a BSc in Genetics with distinction.
This is an extraordinary feat for any student, but even more so because Zak is blind.
Unable to see all the visual material required for his degree, Zak had to rely on his screen reader software, descriptions from textbooks and digital scans and printouts in braille from UP’s Disability Unit. The library also played a role in Zak’s success by ensuring that his textbooks were ordered in electronic format to allow him to read it through his screen reader.
The University of Pretoria has an institutional commitment to ensure an integrated and inclusive learning experience for students with disabilities. Accordingly, the Disability Unit aims to create an enabling environment by providing support to students with disabilities.
“Each human being is uniquely talented. Part of the dignity of every human being is the fact and awareness of this uniqueness. An individual’s human dignity cannot be fully respected or valued unless the individual is permitted to develop his or her talents optimally.” ~ Constitutional Court 1996
The Disability Unit operates within the Department of Student Affairs and supports students with disabilities in partnership with departments and faculties. The Disability Unit endeavours to establish a human rights culture at University of Pretoria that allows for equal access and participation of students with disabilities in the University of Pretoria learning environment.
Zak is currently registered for an honours in bioinformatics and intends to complete a master’s as well.
Zak chose to study genetics because “the genetic code underlies the functioning of every living thing on the planet. I chose to study it because it seemed very interesting when I was doing it in Life Science at school, and because it’s a relatively new field that’s still growing as new discoveries are being made.
And I think it has the potential to become more important in future.”
Zak makes special mention of the Disability Unit, the Department of Library Services and the departmental tutors who helped him on his way to success.
Zak’s message to fellow students is: “Don’t give up! If you don’t succeed, keep trying, you will eventually.”
by 