COMMENT | Every year, when the public university admissions (UPU) system is being updated, those of us in civil society and NGOs serving persons with disabilities brace ourselves for the flood of panicked pleas from disabled students desperate to pursue higher education yet denied their rightful course choices because of arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions.

Despite repeated assurances from the Higher Education Ministry that this issue was resolved, it continues to resurface, leaving students traumatised and their futures jeopardised.

This is not a new problem. As far back as the 1970s, disabled students have raised concerns about exclusionary practices in Malaysia’s education system.

As understanding and recognition of disability has grown over the decades, our systems have unfortunately not caught up in terms of accessibility.

In 2021, UPU’s system was found to be...