AD spokesperson Saviour Sammut, who is coordinating AD’s policy on inclusion and disability issues, said that equality was always a guiding principle for AD and that the aim of its policy in this area is to push the limits and work towards more community-based individualised services to people with different needs.

AD chairperson, Dr Harry Vassallo pledged his and the Green Party’s full support to people with a disability in their quest to get VAT exemption for products they are constrained to use due to their specific disability.

Dr Vassallo was speaking during a consultation meeting organised by Alternattiva Demokratika for NGOs working in this field.

Dr Vassallo mentioned a case in point where MCAST adamantly refused to accept a student with a disability due to lack of resources. MCAST prides itself on providing educational opportunities for all, but it is discriminating against people with a disability when it refuses to permit them to follow its courses.

AD’s chairperson said that students with certain disabilities should not be excluded from courses in ICT. Advances in technology means that these students can be integrated into the mainstream quite easily.

MCAST should bend over backwards to take down barriers and not make life more difficult for such students and their families. AD calls on the government to take immediate measures to stop discrimination and the blatant disregard of the law by this public institution.