| Abdul Hakiim Yakof & Aziz Idris |
THE Minister of Education YB Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman explained that since the introduction of Inclusive Education, not one child was neglected from education, regardless of whether the child possesses deficiencies, be it physical or mental.
Under the Inclusive Education scheme, all children are given schooling amenities wherever they are, the minister said at the 13th LegCo session yesterday.
In this matter, the ministry is continuously working towards providing schooling to these children, and various efforts have been carried out so these students to enjoy normal education, like other children.
He was responding to a quesion raised by YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pendikar Alam Dato Paduka Seri Haji Hasrin bin Dato Paduka Haji Sabtu, a LegCo member, on the effectiveness of Inclusive Education undertaken by the Ministry of Education in terms of increasing the quality and scope of learning programmes for special needs students in the country.
YB Pehin Orang Kaya Pendikar Alam Dato Paduka Seri Haji Hasrin also suggested increasing the number, placement and expertise of Special Education Needs Assistants (SENAs) at the country’s schools both in the primary and secondary level.
The minister said, “Students with special needs will not be separated as long as they are able to socialise with other children. However, if they have certain conditions that require them to be separated, then they will be relocated to other classes for certain subjects.
“If they require one-to-one teaching, Insya Allah one-to-one teachers will be provided,” he said.
However, he was quick to point out there are currently more than 4,000 special needs students. “So imagine for one (SENA) teacher to look after a small group, we will need a large number of teachers, especially on the one-to-one basis.
On the issue of training often falling short of real effectiveness and teachers already straining under large workloads.
Some of the invited guests during the 13th LegCo session. – DEAN KASSIM
The minister said, “In this matter, we cannot deny that we are facing a challenge in preparing many teachers, the first being the number, where we cannot prepare a large number of teachers, the second being their expertise, many of these teachers have no specific expertise to care for special needs children.
However the Ministry of Education is working through special trainings or courses for them to be experts in their respective fields, so they will be able to care for these children properly.
“It is a commitment of the Ministry of Education in preparing programmes that are suitable with the special needs students, and the teaching force involved with these students is upgraded from time to time so that their expertise can handle the problems of these children.
“We are proud to report that several of the special needs children have achieved success in their studies, Alhamdulillah, this has been made possible with the commitment, compassion and effort made by the SENA teachers and assistant teachers,” he explained.
The same sentiment was shared by YB Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Abdul Rahman, who listed out the challenges faced by special needs.
She explained that one of the main challenged is physical barrier in the school whereby there is not adequate facilities to properly accommodate students with special needs.
Another factor is that there are not enough trained SENA teachers who are willing or enthusiastic about working with students with disabilities.
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