More hearing-impaired students enter universities

Early medical intervention, technological advancement and increased educational opportunities have contributed to a rise in the number of hearing-impaired students in Singapore universities. According to the Singapore Associate for the Deaf, there are currently 33 hearing-impaired students studying at our four local universities, a significant increase compared to six in 1999. This trend has been observed in the backdrop of a decreasing number of hearing-impaired persons. There is also a call to train more professional interpreters for the hearing-impaired, as there is a serious shortage of such talents. At the National Day Rally last week, 28-year-old Nafisah took on the role of simultaneous sign language interpreter for the Prime Minister. She has normal hearing but started learning sign language when she was studying psychology at SMU. After graduation she became a full-time sign language interpreter for the Singapore Association for the Deaf.