NEW laws designed to prevent schools and colleges from discriminating against disabled students have been welcomed across York.

Educational establishments are now required to ensure they do not treat disabled students less favourably, and must make provision for their needs wherever possible.

The laws are part of the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995(DDA), amended last year to include educational bodies.

Hilary Layton, University of York's press and public relations officer, said the university had done all it could to comply.

Disabled people make up 7.1 per cent of the undergraduate and 8.6 per cent of the postgraduate population at the university, compared with a national average of 5.2 and 3.5 respectively.

The university has completed an access audit of its facilities and will make improvements over the next three years.

Mrs Layton highlighted the "unseen" side of the university's work, such as producing large-print publications and courses on producing web pages suitable for visually- impaired users.

"I think we are the first university, and possibly public sector organisation, to run such a course," she said. "Things like this can get easily overlooked."

But Tom Connor, president of the university's students' union, expressed doubts about the university's commitment to providing for the needs of disabled students.

"They are making strides and they know they must comply," he said. "But the figures we've been shown seem to fall well short of what it will cost."

Student union access officer Cheryl Smith, who has multiple disabilities, said the university has been "short-ighted" by not including facilities for the disabled at the planning stage of new buildings.

She said: "York University should be a model of excellence as far as access is concerned. We should be going above and beyond the DDA, and in many areas, we will.

"There are so many things that should be done and however much I think that money is not an issue, the changes will take time, patience and money."

At the College of York St John, money from the Higher Education Funding Council helped set up a disability unit, and to ensure that most staff receive awareness training.

The college said that although many of its historical buildings were unsuitable for wheelchair access, the disability unit can arrange for room changes and minor adaptations so students can access the facilities they require.

Meanwhile, City of York Council is confident that schools in the area comply with the legislation.

A spokesman said: "City of York Council is aware of their responsibilities and will be providing the necessary training and support for schools.

"Work has already begun and conferences and awareness raising sessions were held throughout the last school year."

Updated: 08:22 Wednesday, September 04, 2002