Abstract:
South African students with disabilities have and are still experiencing various challenges in their
institutions of learning. These ills include environmental challenges such as lack of architectural structures
like ramps, elevators, and others, which affect the students with disabilities' academic success. These barriers
work contrarily with the notion of inclusion in education which seek to uphold equality as well as fair provision
of services to maintain successful education for all. Additionally, the effect of environmental barriers towards
students with disabilities is overlooked yet their influence has an enormous impact on these students' academic
progress. Hence, there is a need to investigate the extent to which these environmental barriers affect
students with disabilities in South African higher institutions of learning by using the University of Limpopo as
a case in point of such institutions. A qualitative descriptive design undergirded the study; and semi-structured
interviews were adopted as a data collection method. Further, six students with physical disabilities from the
University of Limpopo were purposively sampled and data was analysed through a thematic content analysis
(TCA). Furthermore, the environmental barriers affecting students with disabilities were identified, analysed
and the possible recommendations were provided. The findings indicate that the inaccessibility of buildings and
uncomfortable surfaces within the university premises are the major environmental barriers which lowering
the students with physical disabilities' sense of belonging, self-esteem as well as inhibiting their academic performance.
Thus, the study recommends that the institutions of higher learning should provision the students
with disabilities with reasonable accommodation for successful learning purposes.
