17.1.13
Hundreds of disabled students have been excluded from the School of Fine Arts and departments of Fine and Applied Arts of the universities in Thessaloniki and Western Macedonia. Up until three years ago disabled students sat for special entrance exams, which have since been banned.
The “exclusion” of disabled students began in 2009 with law 3794, which provides that students with disabilities or serious health issues (blind, deaf, paraplegics etc) can enter universities without any exams, except the School of Fine Arts and departments of Fine and Applied Arts of the universities in Thessaloniki and Western Macedonia in excess of 5% of enrolled students, provided they have a High School diploma.
The disable will not be allowed in departments and schools, which due to their nature make learning difficult, according to the justified decision of the department that is approved by the senate and announced at the start of the academic year.
The scientific head o the Academic Support Unit for Disabled Students of the School of Fine Arts Ourania Anastasiadou claims that there is a legal grey area needing to be refined. She explains that in September there was not a single successful disabled student, since they do not have the opportunity to commit to the daily tutoring that able-bodied students enjoy. She also claims that the “special” exams for the disabled were strict, as is evident by their exceptional performance compared to other students.
