Suhair Issa.. She has overcome the lack of hearing and is close to obtaining a doctorate

Damascus-SANA

In the Department of Libraries and Information at the University of Damascus, Suhair Issa completes her doctoral thesis and records her supervisor’s notes. While the scene seems normal and perhaps daily at the university, it is different with Suhair, who was accompanied by severe sensory hearing loss since birth, and his management or treatment was not available in light of the financial condition of her family.

In the midst of these circumstances, Suhair's doctorate degree turned into a challenging story, like the stories she used to read whenever she felt despair, as she put it.

Suhair remembers that she needed to get very close to her teacher in the class to understand what she was saying, which caused her many embarrassing situations, and sometimes she had to rely on herself due to the financial circumstances that did not allow her to have a private tutor, nor did she allow her to transplant snails because it is very expensive. Overcoming the first with her determination and ambition, the second remained a dream to restore her hearing naturally.

Suhair’s mother is her only supporter, as she says, as she is the one who followed her and taught her the letters and how to pronounce them, as she used to put her fingertips on her mouth to learn how to pronounce letters, distinguish them and read the movement of the lips, indicating that in later stages she chose the scientific branch and was able to pass the high school certificate with good marks that enabled her to enter the library department and information at Tishreen University.

After obtaining her bachelor's degree in libraries and information, she decided to continue her studies to obtain a master's degree, and obtained it within two years, after which she began preparing for her doctorate.

Suhair, who is currently working in a library in a middle school and aspires to study at the university, stated that the topic of her doctoral thesis is how to create a digital library by entering lectures electronically so that people with disabilities can access them easily without the trouble of moving.

A member of the teaching staff in the Department of Libraries and Information at Damascus University, Dr. Abeer Al-Assaf, who supervises Suhair’s thesis, stated that the latter reached this stage of educational attainment thanks to her persistence and desire to prove herself and her diligence.

For her part, Head of the Special Education Department at the Faculty of Education, Damascus University, Dr. Alia Al-Refai, stated that there are a set of measures taken to help students with hearing impairment, such as specialized insurance in sign language to translate the university professor’s explanation during the lecture and to be present with them during exams, indicating that the Special Education Department in the college evaluates Free courses for students in sign language to improve communication with peers with hearing impairments.

According to the clarifications of the Directorate of Student Affairs at Damascus University to SANA, 5 seats are allocated to persons with disabilities in each department, while their acceptance as faculty members is subject to an examination of eligibility and health fitness.

Nour Youssef and Muhannad Suleiman