First-year students with various disabilities at the University of Limpopo (UL) have received assistive devices and motorised wheelchairs to augment their remote learning experiences, courtesy of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).The sponsorships to the tune of R700 000 were for NSFAS beneficiaries based at the university’s Reakgona Disability Centre (RDC). Of the 36 first years, 33 received laptops and only three had mobility impairments and received motorised wheelchairs. Other assistive devices included nine spectacles, nine victor readers, six jaws, and nine zoom text.

RDC Acting Director, Justice Phukubje, said that the supply of assistive devices came at a time of need when students had just shifted to online learning, and this would enhance the students’ online learning experiences.

Media Studies student in the first level, Karel Mathebula, said some of the classes were difficult for him to attend because he was using a cellphone with a small screen to read and access online teaching platforms. “Now that I have a laptop, I won’t miss any of my classes,” he excitedly remarked.

His classmate, Lucia Mbila, who received a wheelchair, said: “It is reliable and faster. With my old wheelchair I had to ask close friends and classmate to push me to class. Some you could see that they were tired of pushing me around and I had decided to go to lectures an hour earlier on my own,” she informed, vowing that She will never be late for any event since receiving the motorised wheelchair.