Deaf protest against shutting down the Advance Centre, a tertiary support centre for Deaf and hearing impaired students in the Auckland region. The protest, on Saturday 5 December 2009, was held outside the then Prime Minister’s office, and lasted two hours in the morning. Fifteen (15) Deaf people and their supporters assembled to raise awareness of the need for this service.
The Advance Centre was established in 2004 to assist with the provision of services to Deaf students attending tertiary institutions throughout Auckland. The Tertiary Education Commission funded the Advance Centre though a Special Supplementary Grant of $100,000 (incl GST) per annum.
James Pole explains the importance of the Advance Centre in providing service to students such as himself, and raises concerns of the ability of disability services across the tertiary sector to provide the same level or quality of support provided by the Advance Centre.
