Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) has reaffirmed its commitment to building a more inclusive and accessible learning environment through a disability awareness workshop that brought together staff, students and disability inclusion practitioners at the SMU Sports Complex.
The initiative formed part of the university’s ongoing efforts to deepen understanding of disability, challenge misconceptions and promote meaningful interaction with persons living with disabilities. The workshop encouraged participants to reflect on the barriers that may prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in university life.
Tshidiso Ntshabele, SMU Deputy Director: Campus Health and Counselling and Chairperson of the South African Association of Campus Health Services, emphasised the importance of making disability awareness an integral part of the university experience. “Disability awareness must not be treated as a once-off initiative,” Ntshabele said. “It should become part of how we engage with one another, develop our systems and create an environment in which every member of the university community feels valued and included.”
The programme also featured Dr Gundo Nepfumunda, Assistant Director at the Office of the Premier in Limpopo, who addressed disability inclusion and special programmes. Her presentation highlighted the need for institutions to move beyond awareness and towards meaningful participation and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. “True inclusion requires more than good intentions,” Dr Nepfumunda said. “We need systems and practices that enable persons with disabilities to participate equally and with dignity.”
The workshop also drew on the experience of institutions that have established disability offices and support structures, including Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Limpopo (UL). Their participation enabled SMU staff and students to learn from existing practices and consider approaches that could strengthen disability support across the university.
Mosimaneotsile Mohlake from the Reakgona Disability Centre at UL delivered a presentation on disability etiquette in higher education, offering practical guidance on respectful communication and engagement. “Sometimes barriers are created unintentionally through assumptions and everyday behaviour,” Mohlake said. “Respectful engagement begins with listening, asking rather than assuming, and recognising the person before the disability.”
One of the workshop’s most poignant moments came when second-year Dental Therapy student Kamogelo Maseema shared her lived experience of navigating university life as a person with a disability.
Her testimony gave participants a personal perspective on the challenges students with disabilities can encounter, while underscoring that inclusion has a direct impact on educational experience, wellbeing and a sense of belonging. “Inclusion becomes meaningful when people listen to our experiences,” Maseema said. “Students with disabilities should be part of the conversations and decisions that affect our lives.”
Beyond the formal presentations, the workshop became a celebration of inclusion, with performances by SMU mascots, music and dancing creating an energetic atmosphere.
The event reinforced the collective responsibility of the university community to advance dignity, accessibility, equality and participation. It also reflected SMU’s broader institutional commitment to respect, diversity and student-centredness.
For SMU, the workshop marked another step towards cultivating a campus culture in which students and staff are equipped to understand disability, challenge barriers and help create an environment where everyone can participate and thrive.
By Dimakatso Modise
