It is known that opportunities for handicapped people are limited, and for visually impaired students, the chances to enroll in a Chinese university are incredibly slim. Preferential policies have been implemented by the Ministry of Education to allow students who are blind or partially sighted to take the college entrance exams, but the question is, will they be accepted by a university?
That is what's worrying Chinese blind students like Zheng Rongquan who, despite achieving a good score in the gaokao, hope to enroll in a reputable university.
"I have been rejected by many universities and I am contacting others. If no universities are willing to accept me, I have no choice but to go to special education schools," Zheng said in an interview with Global Times on Sunday, June 28.
According to Xinhua News Agency, there are little to no universities in China who accept blind students. Few academic institutions in Shanghai, Beijing, and Jilin Province that offer courses on massage and music are among the exceptions.
Despite the challenge, Zheng is adamant in his plans to study special education or normal education, emphasizing that he can look after himself.
An unnamed teacher from a university in Zhejiang shared with the Global Times that they do not accept visually impaired students, as the institution has neither special teachers nor proper instruction materials for such students.
Wang Rui, a visually impaired rights activist based in Zhengzou, says that blind students don't need to receive instruction from special teachers. Electronic instruction materials will suffice.
"They do not need special treatment. They just need an equal chance to get education," Wang said.
Not all hope is lost, however, as evidenced by the admission of Zhang Yaodong to the Hubei University of Chinese Medicine. He is one of the first three blind candidates to take the exams last year, and the first blind student to be admitted at a university.