Students with health issues face various challenges in both their daily lives and educational journeys. The obstacles they encounter often go unnoticed by many, but these make their achievements more valuable and significant.
The decision to continue their university education, prove their talents and abilities only confirms their strength, courage and determination. Unfortunately, due to their illness, classrooms are sometimes replaced by hospital corridors, and a folder filled with assignments by medical referrals and findings. Then, after another battle won, they gather strength and motivation, trying to catch up on missed material and keep going as if nothing happened.
If you are a student at Faculty of Science, you no longer have to fight this battle alone.
-The higher education system does not have personal assistants to help with learning. Some students, due to illness, often have many absences, which causes them to gradually fall behind, give up, or defer entire years of study. Therefore, we decided to launch a peer support project and devise a way to assist them in learning and making up for lost time and missed material. It was important that students helping with learning do it for right motives, which is why we did not opt for any form of compensation, in form of fees, additional ECTS credits, or other forms of motivation - stated Vice Dean Gordan Radobolja.
To the initial call for participation in the pilot project, a group of humble young individuals responded without much hesitation and with open hearts, deciding to step into the unknown and help without reservation. One of them is Ivor Dukić, who graduated with a master's degree in Physics and Computer Science, teacher education course. We asked him about his motives:
-In my free time I play chess, board games, and enjoy coffee with friends. I joined the project because I believe that such an approach is necessary for creating equal opportunities in education, as only then will the success of students with health challenges be a true reflection of their abilities. The project also benefitted me as a future teacher because I gained valuable experience in adapting my approach to working with students who face certain learning difficulties.
Recently, we sent out a call for students to participate in a new cycle, both as helpers and those who currently need assistance, with the hope that they will soon also be able to help others. We hope this story will inspire students from other faculties to create their own initiatives, where right to inclusive education for students with disabilities would not just remain declarative - Gordan Radobolja concluded.
