The Pécsi Újság.hu published an article about the Support Service in December of 2011.
"The University of Pécs has a unique Support Service, which is designed to help disabled students with their studies and university life, both inside and outside the buildings..."
The original article can be read in Hungarian by clicking on the following link:
https://www.pecsiujsag.hu/egyetem/kuriozum-a-pte-tamogato-szolgalata-de-keves-az-emberuk
The English translation can be found below.
The Support Service of the PTE is a curiosity, but understaffed
Friday, 02 December 2011 14:54
The University of Pécs has a unique support service, which is designed to help disabled students with their studies and university life, both inside and outside the buildings. It covers nearly sixty students from ten faculties, providing them with fifteen million forints, five members of staff and a special car to help them.
The PTE was the first in the country to set up the Service back in 2005, and it currently has five members. In addition, volunteers help the university's disabled students - who are not so few in number, with almost 400 of the approximately 800 disabled students in the country's higher education institutions being PTE students.
Not everyone needs help, of course: this year, sixty of them signed an agreement with the service. They mostly need transport services, computer use, free printing, photocopying and typing, but they also welcome academic advice on how to fill in applications.
„In Pécs, unlike other Services, in addition to maintaining independent living and providing special assistance in the homes of people with disabilities, our task is also to assist the learning process,” Sándor Szép, head of the service, explained to our colleague.
The tasks include, but are not limited to, reading to visually impaired people, taking notes, studying together, counselling and all kinds of administration. However, the Head of Service pointed out that, in accordance with the principle of independent living, they do not do anything for the student that he or she is capable of doing.
According to Adonyiné Dr. Mária Gábori, coordinator for disability issues, the base for the support service is a one hundred and twenty square meter room complex in the building "A" of the Faculty of Education and Science with office space, a break room, a small kitchen and a toilet with accessibility. In addition, a car adapted for the disabled is used to bring people to classes, shopping and entertainment.
The Service is fully funded by the University, and according to Sándor Szép's calculations, around 15 million forints per year are budgeted for the operation and development of the service. This includes everything: petrol, printing ink, salaries and other expenses.
"Our biggest problem at the moment is the shortage of our transport service. We have one converted car that has already done half a million kilometres. We are having serious difficulties in meeting student demand in this area," he said.
Because they are working with a tight capacity of one driver per car, they need at least two days' notice to make sure everything runs smoothly.
What makes the PTE Support Service special is that it is run by the University. The 2005 criteria for a university service were abolished after PTE applied for it, so that in other cities only services coordinated by NGOs exist.