On April 16, the opening ceremony for the first batch of students admitted to the School for the Disabled of Hebei Radio and TV University (Hebei RTVU) was held in Hebei Provincial Disabled Persons’ Federation (Hebei PDPF), which marked a fresh start for secondary vocational education for the disabled in the province.
728 disabled students in all will learn vocational skills for free through modern high-tech means such as the Internet and computers.
As per the characteristics of the disabled people and social needs, the Hebei RTVU School for the Disabled opened five specialties, including computer application, social work, accounting, traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation and healthcare (Chinese massage orientation) and ethnic handicraft production in the first semester. The School adopted a teaching method in which integrates online distance learning with offline practical learning and students’ autonomous learning integrates with collaborative learning. The learning patterns were free and the learning time was flexible. The School can also help students plan individualized learning programmes, offer sign language videos especially for students with hearing disabilities and screen reading software for blind students, so as to meet the special learning needs of students with different types of disabilities. The School exempted the first batch of students from all kinds of study costs. The Hebei Provincial Disabled Persons’ Federation also providded computers for some students whose families had financial difficulties.
Cui Jiangshui, the Vice Chairman of the Hebei Province People’s Political Consultative Conference and Honorary Vice Chairman of the Hebei PDPF attended the ceremony. He pointed out that the establishment of the School is strategically meaningful because it responds to the urgent needs of the disabled. He hoped that Hebei RTVU could equip itself with excellent teachers and resources, perfect its specialties, develop the strength of the School, with its own characteristics and at the highest quality level.
Cui Jiangshui, along with Yi Yali, Assistant Governor and Director of the Hebei Provincial Working Committee for the Disabled and Chairman of the Hebei PDPF, Chang Lihong, Director of the Hebei PDPF, and Liu Xiaoping, Party Secretary of Hebei RTVU, jointly clicked the mouse for the launch of the teaching platform for the first students at the School for the Disabled.
Other meeting attendees included: Xie Guan’an, Vice Chairman of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, Dong Zhaowei, President of Hebei RTVU, Liu Quanfa, Deputy Counsel of the Hebei Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, relevant officials from Hebei PDPF, Hebei Province Department of Civil Affairs, Department of Finance and Department of Commerce, as well as representatives of the faculty and students of Hebei RTVU and student representatives from the School for the Disabled.
Starting from the enrollment this Fall, the Hebei RTVU School for the Disabled will further expand its subjects and increase training programmes so as to better satisfy the learning needs of the disabled.
On December 3, 2013, the Hebei PDPF and Hebei RTVU signed a strategic cooperation agreement to mutually establish the Hebei RTVU School for the Disabled and formally launch the Hebei disabled distance education programme. The School would fully utilize modern distance education methods and technology to provide degree education and skills training for the disabled and disabled family handicraftsmen, who are inconvenient to leave their homes.
By Hebei RTVU