and district health centers. These agencies lack the technical staff and
resources to adapt their websites to meet accessibility standards, resulting in
the inability to acquire the accessibility certification label.
(3) Between 2017 and 2019, 8,747 website accessibility verification applications
were received from public organizations, 6,389 manual verification
applications were submitted, and 3,210 labels were approved. Government
and school websites are required to meet the accessibility standards laid out in
the Web Accessibility Guidelines. However, approved websites may become
non-compliant with administrative turnover or when new functions are
introduced. The NHRC recommends that the NCC spot-check approved
websites to ensure that accessibility requirements continue to be met.
(4) The number of private websites that passed the accessibility verification
(acquired the accessibility certification label) increased from 156 in 2016 to
400 in 2019.82 Between 2017 and 2019, 925 website accessibility verification
applications were received from private organizations, 599 manual
verification applications were submitted, and 217 labels were approved. All
figures were lower than those of public organizations. The reason could be that
the accessibility of government and school websites is regulated by the
PDRPA. Awareness concerning accessibility is lower in the private sector than
in the public sector. Therefore, private entities may not prioritize accessibility
when designing their websites. Another reason could be that private websites
are typically more robust, and creating a completely accessible website could
pose considerable technical difficulties. Therefore, the NHRC recommends
that the NCC actively promote private involvement, focusing on private
companies that provide public services in the finance, healthcare,
transportation, education, commerce, and entertainment industries.
98.
The advancement of smartphone accessibility functions has enabled persons with
visual impairments to use smartphones without restrictions. Smartphones have
become a common networking tool for persons with disabilities, particularly
those with visual impairments. The NHRC highlighted the urgency of improving
mobile banking apps to meet current accessibility needs in Point 57. However,
82
According to Table 21.3 of the CRPD Second Report, private websites that passed accessibility
verification (acquired the accessibility certification label) increased from 156 in 2016 to 400 in 2019.
67