Commissioner finds no proven discrimination in University of Cyprus teaching placement

Nicosia, Cyprus. A student with severe visual impairment was not shown to have faced discrimination during a University of Cyprus teaching placement, although uncertainty remained over whether she could receive necessary support, Human Rights Commissioner Maria Stylianou-Lottides said on Tuesday.

The student said restrictions on assistance from her companion made it significantly harder to complete the placement and affected her final grade.

Complaint and placement

The student was completing a programme for pre-school teachers and was accompanied during the placement by a support person due to her visual impairment.

She complained that university supervisors prevented her companion from assisting her during lessons. The student argued that the assistance she was permitted to receive was not adequately adapted to her disability.

Assessment records

Stylianou-Lottides examined 24 assessment forms, which criticised the student’s knowledge of lesson content, preparation, lesson planning, feedback to children and time management.

However, the forms did not refer to instances in which the companion had attempted to assist the student and had been stopped by supervisors. The commissioner said she could therefore not establish whether those incidents affected the student’s marks.

Conflicting accounts

The investigation found conflicting accounts of the events.

Two university supervisors said they stopped the companion because they believed the person was doing more than was permitted in a support role.

The mentor at the Tseri public preschool gave a different account, saying no supervisor had intervened and that the placement had proceeded normally.