One of the camapigns that NUS SWD will be running this year is Don't Diss my Ability. This campaign will work hard to get rid of disablism and campaign for equal rights and access for all students with disabilities. The campaign will raise awareness of the many different disabilities, how disabled people have a huge contribution to make to society and how to involve ALL students with disabilities, including post graduates and international students in Students’ unions, education and society. Students should be able to choose on their ability not accessibility and no student should be denied their right to access education because of their disability.

New laws giving disabled students greater access to post-16 education come into effect last Thursday. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) now obliges colleges and universities to make alterations to buildings to improve access.

NUS believes that students with disabilities face barriers to equality in all aspects of their lives. Lack of access denies disabled people opportunities in education, employment, leisure and even voting in local and general elections. These are activities that many take for granted. Even when it comes to just choosing a course disabled people face barriers. They make their choices based on not their ability but on accessibility and even though the new laws have come into effect last Thursday there is still a long way to go. The case of Nirav Shah proves this and I just wanted to make you all aware of this case and how far we have still got to go in the call for equality for disabled people in the twenty first century.

Nirav Shah is a 19-year-old Kenyan student who is severely disabled and wheelchair-bound. He is taking the British High Commission to the High Court in England for discriminating against him on the basis of disability. He has a confirmed place at Loughborough University to read Economics but has been refused entry to the UK by immigration. His student visa application is one of the first of its kind for an UK university.

The NUS Students With Disabilities Campaign believes that going onto further and higher education is key for disabled people to get skills they need to fulfil their ambitions. Accessible and inclusive educational environments are fundamental to this and to be on course for a fair future ALL students must be able to get the education that they are entitled to. If students with disabilities still feel this type of discrimination like Nirav has how can we truly say we on course for a fair future that embraces widening participation?

As part of the Don’t Diss my Ability Campaign The NUS SWD Campaign is supporting Nirav's cause, but we need you. We need you to show support, write letters of support, sign the petition and to get your friends/family and anyone else you can think of to sign the petition. To find out more or to sign the online petition then please go to www.supportnirav.co.uk

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