The Student Council of the University of Iceland (SHÍ) regrets the University of Iceland’s decision not to admit new students next academic year to the vocational diploma program for people with intellectual disabilities.
The decision is largely due to a lack of funding, which stems from the government’s chronic underfunding of the higher education system. SHÍ regrets that this underfunding most severely affects a marginalized group with limited access to the only program designed for them.

The program has provided a large group of people with intellectual disabilities both the tools and the opportunity to achieve greater independence. Its positive impact is reflected in the high percentage of graduates who are employed two years after finishing the program, as well as in the increased self-confidence of the students. Students in the program are an active and valued part of the university community. They participate in student associations and, last semester, organized a seminar in collaboration with the National Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities, which was attended by around 200 people.

This is the only program of its kind available to this group in Iceland, and it is unacceptable to further restrict access to it—especially when far fewer students are admitted to the program each year than the number graduating from secondary school vocational tracks.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Iceland has ratified and plans to incorporate into national law in the coming months, clearly states that everyone has the right to education without discrimination—at all levels. Article 24 of the Convention specifically guarantees that persons with disabilities must have access to higher education on an equal basis with others, with appropriate accommodations and support. The University of Iceland is obligated to uphold these provisions.

Therefore, SHÍ calls on both the government and the University of Iceland to ensure the necessary funding and the annual admission of new students without delay. This is essential to guarantee equal access to education and full participation in society. The University should take pride in offering diverse education for a diverse student body and continue this important work. The University of Iceland should be a university for all people in Iceland, guided by an inclusive policy. The vocational diploma program has been a credit to the University, and the Student Council insists that it must remain so.