HIGHER EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN RUSSIA

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

Modernization of education is a priority for Russia's social policy. One of the goals of this process is to increase the accessibility and quality of education for all categories of citizens and to create equal opportunities for people with disabilities in receiving education. People with disabilities in Russia count about 8.2% of the population which is 12.1 million people. A person with disabilities is an individual who has physical, mental or functional disabilities that impede life functions and involve special conditions for individual life.All-Russian comprehensive monitoring (Public Chamber of the Russian Federation) of the accessibility of higher education for people with disabilities showed that only every 33rd disabled person under the age of 30 becomes a student compare to every 5th peers with no health problems. Only 0.38% of students in higher education are individuals with disabilities. Among them, 25-65% do not accomplish their study due to different causes. Only 8.3 thousand students with disabilities are in secondary vocational education programs.There is a number of legislative and regulatory documents devoted to Education and people with disabilities in Russia and the main documents are Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No. 273-FL “On Education in the Russian Federation” and Federal Law of November 24, 1995 No. 181-FL "On the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in the Russian Federation" (as amended, entered into force on July 21, 2014). Availability of Education for people with disabilities depends on accessible environment development for this category of student determined by the type of personal limitations. Buildings have to be equipped accordingly with ramps, enlarged doorways, corridors and elevators, and special bathrooms and also public transportation has to have special features such as low-floors and lifts in case of motor disability (only since 2016 the procurement of new public vehicles not adapted for the disabled is legally prohibited). In many universities there are a lot of physical barriers for people with motor disabilities such as thresholds, steps, uneven and slippery flooring, improperly installed ramps, lack of handrails and rest places on the way, highly placed door handles, etc. Barriers for blind and people with visual impairment include lack of tactile pointers, including direction of movement information and contrasting signs of such barriers as racks, columns, corners, glass doors and uneven, slippery flooring. Barriers for the deaf comprise a lack of visual information, including emergency situations at social infrastructure facilities, lack of ability to connect modern rehabilitation aids to information systems (for example, through induction loops), electromagnetic interference when passing through turnstiles, controls for people with cochlear implants, lack of sign language interpretation and other information barriers. Lack or absence of information assistance and orientation exists at the education facilities for all types of disabilities. Not all universities train their staff how properly to communicate with disabled students which has specifics depending on the type of disability. Universities’ administration and staff need to provide pedagogical and social follow up for students with disabilities. Assistance of students with disabilities in Russian higher education system is on the move.