MALAYSIA  

National Report on the provision of inclusive quality primary and secondary education  

Sub‐regional Workshop on “Building inclusive education system to respond to the diverse needs of disabled children”  

Jakarta, Indonesia, 3 – 5 November 2009  

UNESCO International Bureau of Education  

UNESCO Cluster Office in Jakarta  

IBE/2009/RP/CD/03

MALAYSIA: NATIONAL REPORT ON THE PROVISION OF INCLUSIVE QUALITY PRIMARY AND JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR

CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Part 1: Situational Analysis

1.1 Introduction

The education system in Malaysia is highly centralized through the establishment

of government and private schools. The basic education is 11 years but special

needs students are assured of 13 years (extra 2 years) for free basic education

consisting of one year for preschool, six years of primary, three years of lower

secondary and two years of upper secondary education and extra 2 years either

taken at the primary or secondary level. Figure 1.1 describe the schooling years

for special needs students in Malaysia. The Malaysian National Education System

guarantees the right to education for all citizens regardless of religion, race,

descent, and place of origin or disabilities. The provision of free and compulsory

primary, free secondary education, democratization of educational opportunities

and diversification of educational opportunities including for the disadvantaged

children are the strategies to achieve the aim of Education for All (EFA) and

inclusive education.

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Figure 1.1: Period of Schooling for Special Needs Students in Malaysia

YEAR

EDUCATION LEVEL

  

 

  UPPER 6

POSTSECONDARY  

LOWER 6

  

  

  HIGH SECONDARY LEVEL

  

FORM 5

FORM 4

 

  

  

LOWER SECONDARY LEVEL

  

 

  

  

 

FORM 3

FORM 2

FORM 1

2nd EXTRA

 STANDARD 6  

 STANDARD 5  

 

  STANDARD 4

  

PRIMARY LEVEL STANDARD 3

  

  

STANDARD 2

  STANDARD 1

    

1st EXTRA

   PRESCHOOL +4+4

   EARLY INTERVENTION 4 BELOW

  2

In Malaysia, the special needs students are categorized into three main

disabilities: the hearing impaired, the visual impaired and the learning difficulties

students. Those with Down’s syndrome, Autism, ADHD, Minimal Retardation, and

Specific Learning Difficulties such as Dyslexia are in the Learning Difficulties (LD)

group. Meanwhile both the hearing and visual impaired will include those with

residual hearing and low vision. The placement in schools is based on these three

types of disabilities as diagnosed by the medical practitioners. By this practice,

Malaysia is yet to turn away from the concept of medical model of disability which

focus on the cognitive abilities through the terms ‘educable’ and ‘non-educable’

used in the legislation. These terms were highly criticized by educators and

stakeholders because it tends to limit the Special Needs Students participations in

the formal education system.

The ministry is in the process of revising the Education Act 1996 and 2002 and

making amendment to omit the criticized terms and also to include the provision

for the physically handicapped and those with multiple disabilities. It should be

noted that as these physically handicapped students are cognitively able their

education are in form of total inclusive system in the mainstream schools. All of

these physically handicapped students follow the national curriculum and take all

the same national examinations as the normal students. By formally including

them in the special needs students’ categories, they will be eligible to receive all

the necessary support and assistant needed like wheel chairs. When required,

schools need to ensure easy access classroom, for example having their classes

in the lower ground and also providing RAM for easy access to school compound.

As for the multiple disabilities program, the ministry has started it’s pilot project

involving special education schools as well as the integrated classes in the

mainstream schools. The ministry comes to realize that many of these special

needs students are having more than one disability which further hinders them in

getting more positive learning experiences. In helping these multiple disabilities

students, the ministry in its pilot project is working out in developing better

teaching and learning approaches as well as in providing suitable school facilities

  3

for them. More integrated classes in the mainstream schools will be opened to

accommodate these multiple disabilities students. Since 1981 after the Ministry of

Education had adopted the ‘least restrictive environment’ policy, many special

education classes in the mainstream schools have been improved to ensure

better learning for those special needs students in the integrated programs.

Here, the least restrictive environment is referring to the location and condition of

the special education classes in the integrated program. At the beginning of its

implementation, due to the lack of classes in the mainstream schools many of the

special classes opened were located at the far end of the building. Some classes

were near the sport equipment stores or near the field site far from the office

building. The state education authorities are facing difficulty in opening more

classes in the schools that have been identified earlier. The selected schools are

favored by the parents because of the closed proximity to their home and

workplace which will be easy to send their children to school. However, these

selected schools do not have many available classrooms so at the end some of

the schools will just turn stores into classrooms. In order to help the students the

ministry has upgraded the classes with better facilities as well as providing

adequate supply of skillful teachers to ensure these students are learning in a

more conducive classrooms.

There are three types of programs in the formal education system for these

special needs students. The programs are as followed:

i) Special Education Schools

ii) Special Education Integrated Programs

iii) Inclusive Program

At present the biggest program is the integrated classes in the mainstream

schools with a total of 4,762 classes to accommodate about 25,849 students in

year 2007. There are specific classes for all the dyslexic students. As for the

majority of learning difficulties students such as Down Syndromes, Autism and

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ADHD, they are placed in the same classes in the integrated programs. The State

Education Department is authorized to open new classes in the integration

program. The state education authorities also must make sure there are enough

skillful teachers to teach in the classes. Parents need to discuss with the State

Education Department on finding the most suitable schools for their children.

When it is required and there is a need the State Education Department must

make sure new integrated classes will be opened by the schools.

1.2 Disability Statistics

1.2.1 Enrollment in Special Education Schools

There are 28 primary special education schools and 4 secondary special

education schools around Malaysia with a total number of 2,418 students in 2008.

This number involves a total number of 1,682 students at primary level and 736

students at secondary level as described in Table 1.1. For the period of 5 years,

the number of primary special needs students in the special education schools

had fluctuated a little without constant increase. Rather an impressive decrease

had occurred especially from year 2007 to year 2008. It was an 8.6 percent

decrease from 1,841 to 1,682 students. In terms of category, the number of

hearing impairment students is much bigger than the visual impairment category.

The fluctuation may be due to the lesser number of students being diagnosed as

having hearing or visual impairment. Since 2006, the government has introduced

the monetary incentives (special needs allowances) for all disable students

regardless of learning places either in the formal education system or outside the

system. After the distribution of the allowances, it is suspected that those parents

who have never sent their disable children to school before have started to send

the children to school. That is why after 2006 the data in year 2007 and 2008

  5

have shown an increase instead of a decrease before year 2006. There is yet

research to be carried out to investigate the actual factors affecting the enrollment

trend.

So far, Table 1.1 also shows there is no registered student of learning difficulties

in primary special education schools. In the early establishment of special

education programs, the special schools were intended for only the hearing and

visual impaired students. Those learning difficulties students are enrolled in the

integrated classes. Seeing the benefit of vocational courses to the learning

difficulties students, the new secondary vocational school has been authorized

also to take in those learning difficulties students. This secondary vocational

school which is known as SMPKV Indahpura has been operated on the concept of

3 + 1 where all the three categories of disabilities are studying together for

vocational skills.

Table 1.1 Number of Special Needs Students in Special Education Schools

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Categories/Years

Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec

Hearing Impaired 1,589 532 1,574 438 1,437 436 1,564 457 1,454 461

Visual Impaired 240 112 257 130 221 129 277 143 228 147

Learning Difficulties 110 128 128

Total (n)

1,829

644

1,831

568

1,658

675

1,841

728

1,682

736

Percentage (%) of Increase/Decrease

0.1

-13.4 -10.4 15.9 9.9 7.3 -9.5 1.1

Sources: Special Education Division. MOE

Pri – Primary Schools Sec – Secondary Schools

In regards to the Secondary Special Education Schools, at present there are 4

schools with 2 schools are offering vocational skills and the other 2 schools focus

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on academic achievement by taking national examinations. Secondary Special

Education Vocational School in Indahpura, Johor was the first school to enroll all

the three categories of special needs students: the hearing impaired, visual

impaired and learning difficulties. The students in these special education

secondary schools are able to follow national curriculum or take fully vocational

courses under the Skills Development Department that awarded skills certificate.

In 2008, the total students in these 4 secondary schools were 736 students. The

enrollment trend in the special education secondary schools is showing a

fluctuation with small increases and decreases. For example, it had decreased of

13.4 percent in 2005 but in 2007 it had increased of 7.3 percent as illustrated in

Table 1.1 above. Overall, the enrollment trends in the primary and secondary

education in the special education school are expected to be very similar. Both

the visual and hearing impaired students have the same chances to go for

national curriculum and examinations especially those high functioning students.

At the beginning of it’s’ establishment, special education secondary schools took

in only the hearing and visually impaired students. The numbers of these hearing

and visually impaired students seem to be decreasing. The ministry has also

witnessed an increasing number of the learning difficulty students in the system.

The majority of these learning difficulties students are enrolled in the integrated

programs in the mainstream schools. These students are following alternative

curriculum designed by the ministry. They also can enroll in the vocational special

education secondary schools as they have opened places for all the three

categories of special needs students. The ministry also provided a transition

period of 3 months where those students in the integrated programs can have

opportunity to go to special education school and vice versa. At the same time the

ministry also allows those students in the community centers who are able to

master or manage the daily living skills without people assisting them to enroll in

the special education integrated program or special education schools.

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1.2.2 Enrollment in Integrated Programs

A huge number of special needs students are in the Special Education Integrated

Programs. Malaysia looks at the inclusive approach in a broader sense by

providing various options and opportunities for these special needs students to be

able to have better access to formal education. Inclusion in Malaysia is more of a

functional integration rather than a total inclusion. Even though the students are

in special education classes but the class activities as well as their daily

interaction and communication are integrated with the mainstream activities

allowing them to socialize and communicate with their non-disabled peers. Most of

these integrated classes were opened by taking into consideration the

accessibility factor ensuring the students can commute daily from home. It will

also be easy for parents to send and pick them up from schools. At the same

time, MOE also has prepared residential accommodation as required to help the

students.

The difficulties in ensuring adequate number of skillful teachers, high

understanding and awareness by those involved such as mainstream school

administrators, teachers and parents have hindered the movement towards full

inclusion. Inadequate support services also contribute to the difficulties in

adapting full inclusion approach. It has been suggested that the ministry can start

to forcefully adapt the inclusive setting by allowing those who are capable in the

integrated classes to be either totally or partially inclusive into the normal classes.

It is said that this initiative may work successfully since the schools with the

integrated program already have skillful special education teachers who can

assist the students and the mainstream schools staffs effectively.

A committee responsible for diagnosing and identifying eligible students to go for

the inclusive setting should be established to ensure effective result. The roles of

the committee also will be to explain, educate and report to the mainstream

teachers, parents, special education teachers and the community members on the

benefits of inclusive education. Even though inclusive approach is not new in

Malaysia but the implementation is unfavorable by special educators in Malaysia.

  8

It is also known to those involved in special education provision that there were

students who had been successful in learning through the total inclusive setting.

Unfortunately, the states education departments and the ministry are yet to gather

data on total inclusive setting.  

When looking specifically at the primary education, most of the special integrated

classes’ enrollments are among the learning difficulty students. It is similar to the

secondary education enrollment as shown in Table 1.2. However the number at

primary level is bigger than at secondary level.

Table 1.2 Number of Special Needs Students in Integrated Programs in the Mainstream Schools.

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Categories/ Years

Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec Pri Sec

Hearing Impaired

416 1,008 636 1,046 389 1,072 711 887 587 973

Visual Impaired

136 335 200 204 109 224 119 226 155 235

Learning Difficulties

10,312 4,450 10,721 5,528 13,755 6,861 15,550 8,050 16,942 9,760

Total (n) 10,864 5,793 11,557 6,778 14,253 8,157 16,380 9,163 17,684 10,968

Percentage (%) of Increasing

6.0

14.5 18.9 16.9 13.0

11.0

7.4

16.5

Sources: Special Education Division, MOE

As there are only 4 special education secondary schools to accommodate the

students with hearing and visual impairment, a higher number of these students

are in the mainstream schools. The total number of students in the primary level is

increasing every year. For example, in 2008, it reached a total of 17,684 students

as compared to 10,864 in 2004. Similarly, at the secondary level the number has

increased by 14.5 per cent from 5,793 (in 2004) to 10,968 (in 2008). Overall, the

  9

number of special needs students in the integrated programs at the mainstream

schools had been increased by nearly half (41.9 percent) as shown by the table

1.2: from 16,657 in 2004 to 28,652 in 2008.

1.2.3 Enrollment in Special Schools and Integrated Programs

Access to formal education has been improved for these special needs students.

For a period of 5 years (from 2004 to 2008), the total number of special needs

students in the primary and secondary education either in special education

schools or integrated programs at the mainstream schools had gradually

increased as shown in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3 The Number of Primary and Secondary School Students in Special Education Schools and Integrated Programs

Year/Students 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Primary 12,693 13,388 15,911 18,221 19,366

Secondary 6,437 7,346 8,832 9,891 11,704

Total Number (n) 19,130 20,734 24,743 28,112 31,070

Mainstream Enrollment

5,277,101 5,355,159 5,364,707 5,421,158 5,359,585

Percentage of Special Needs Students

0.36% 0.39% 0.46% 0.52% 0.58%

 

The data in Table 1.3 also showed that more special needs students were able to

continue up to the secondary education. Overall, the number of primary and

secondary levels of education was gradually increased even in a small fraction

(0.03%). Improvement in access and equity to education has given more

opportunities for many special needs students to continue their education up to

secondary level, with better quality curriculum and assessment methods. With the

big increased of learning difficulties students, MOE has planned in opening more

special education integrated programs in the mainstream schools. This plan will

  10

provide opportunity for more special needs students to go for inclusive education

either through partly or total inclusion in the mainstream schools. Against the

mainstream enrollment, these special needs participations have gradually

increased from 2004 to 2008.

Regardless of their differences of race, ethic group, gender, socioeconomic

status, geographic location, age, language, disability, or prior academic

achievement, all students deserve equitable access to challenging and

meaningful learning experiences and environment through suitable curriculum

design and specific teaching and learning techniques. In an inclusive way, each

student will be addressed as an individual, with instructional opportunities,

content, and approaches that meets their specific needs, strengths, and interests.

The successful inclusion of these children depends on their ability to

accommodate and assimilate.

1.2.4 Special Needs Participation in the Community Centers (The Social Welfare

Department).

There are also those special needs children who will be learning together in the

community centers run by the Social Welfare Department as described in Table

1.4. The Social Welfare adopts different categories of students in their centers as

elaborated in the Table 1.4. Most of the students in these centers are having more

severe level of difficulties due to their disabilities. These centers focus more on

the care services next to the learning experiences. The students are trained to

master their daily living skills as well as on learning vocational skills (low skill) or

manual labor such as assembling small product of packaging for KFC. The

students also receive special needs students allowance to help them acquire

necessary teaching aids materials to enhance their learning experiences. Data in

Table 1.4 shows that the majority of the students are from the learning disabilities

children. In 2006 there are 5,740 learning disabilities students in the community

centers.

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Table 1.4: Number of Special Needs Children in the Community Centers

Age

Group

Visually

Impaired

Hearing

Impaired

Physically

Handicap

Learning

Disabilities

Cerebral

Palsy

Having Two or

More Disabilities

6-12 yrs 214 422 624 3,147 113 179

13-18 yrs 209 331 767 1,661 72 157

19-25 yrs 262 438 1,023 932 87 228

Total 685 1,191 2,414 5,740 272 564

Source: The Social Welfare Department, Malaysia - 2006

1.3 Monitoring Access

1.3.1 Early Intervention Programs

The Ministry of Health has been providing an early intervention programs for

children from 4 years below in their centers. At the same time, the Special Welfare

Department under the Ministry of Woman, Family and Community Development

has also managed to help with the early intervention programs at their community

centers. Data from the Social Welfare Department has shown number of children

under 6 years old with special needs based on gender and category of disabilities.

The data as in Table 1.5 could be used to ensure better distribution of support

services or care provision and financial assistance, in planning appropriate

education as well as upgrading and improving the existing programs for the

benefit of wider groups of special needs population.

Under the Ministry of Education, the early intervention programs is currently been

run through the Special Education Support Centers known as 3PK. However,

there is yet data collected on the number of children below 4 years old who are in

the program at the available centers. In general table 1.5 showed no significant

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difference among the numbers of male and female students except for the

learning difficulties group where there were more male than female. There was

about 61 percent of learning difficulties out of 3,318 total children under the age of

6 years old.

Table 1.5 Number of Children Under 6 years Old with Special Needs Based on Category of Disability and Gender in 2006

Categories/Gender

Visual Impaired

Hearing Impaired

Learning Difficulties

Cerebral palsy Physical Others (Multiple

Disabilities)

M F M F M F M F M F M F

93 58 133 137 1,176u 864 114 87 230 195 128 103

Special Welfare Department, 2006 Total = 3,318

Through Education for All (EFA) policy, many more children with disabilities are

being given opportunity to enter formal education. In Malaysia, besides having an

option of going to schools under the Ministry of Education, there are also special

needs children who are being taught in the community centers run by the Social

Welfare Department and other privately own centers run by various NGOs.

However, data on these children were not comprehensively available at this

moment.

1.3.2 Gender of Special Needs Students

There is no female gender bias among the special needs students in Malaysia.

However, the data in Table 1.6 below has shown that the number of male

students exceeded the total number of female students by more than 50 percent.

This data is not assuming an existing of a gender bias towards male or any sort of

discrimination but rather just a summary of data by gender category. At both

primary and secondary levels of education, male students with disabilities are

  13

double the numbers of female with disabilities. Comparing the data in Table 1.5 to

Table 1.6 the different between male and female in Table 1.5 is very small.

Looking across the three disabilities population, the most distinguish different

between numbers of male and female existed among the learning difficulties

population. It also seems that more males with disabilities children are enrolled in

the formal education system compare to female with disabilities.

Table 1.6 Numbers of Students in the Special Education Integrated Program in 2007 According on Gender

Gender/Education Level Male Female

Primary Education 10,540 5,840

Secondary Education 5,852 3,311

Total

16,392

9,151

Percentage (%) 64% 36%

 

In uplifting the EFA goals, gender, race, and socioeconomic background disparity

are not the biggest issues but rather the issues with severity of disabilities and

age will somehow hinder the achievement of the students. Understanding the

developmental milestone based on the age of a student is important in planning

for suitable intervention programs and instructional methods in teaching and

learning. An intervention as early as possible will greatly help these special needs

students to overcome issues related to disability allowing them to study better with

the help of teachers, peers and assertive technology to assist them in learning. It

is commonly known that most forms of support to children with disabilities are

rather costly with specific requirement to meet the diverse needs of the special

needs students.

The data gathered by Special Education Division on Special Education Integrated

Program is based on number of students and numbers of programs but not on the

  14

numbers of schools. In one primary or secondary schools there may be more than

one program of special education classes for example different classes for the

hearing impaired and for the learning difficulties students. So, comparing

percentage can be done on the basis of total number of students in the integrated

programs as compared to the total numbers of all students in the primary and

secondary education in Malaysia. Overall the data on Table 1.7 shows the

percentage of integrated and inclusive numbers of students compare to the total

population of students in the formal education system.

Table 1.7 Comparing Percentage of SEN Enrollment to All Primary and Secondary Population

Year/Students 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Primary Schools

Integrated/Inclusive students

12,693 13,388 15,911 18,221 19,366

All students (Population) 3,120,886 3,137,280 3,136,641 3,167,775 3,154,090

Percentage of difference 0.41 0.43 0.51 0.58 0.61

Secondary Schools

Integrated/Inclusive students

6,437 7,346 8,832 9,891 11,700

All students (Population) 2,156,215 2,217,879 2,228,066 2,253,383 2,205,495

Percentage of difference 0.30 0.33 0.40 0.44 0.53

1.3.3 Participation in Vocational Courses

The development of total inclusive approach in education has giving more

opportunity for these special needs students to go for vocational courses in the

mainstream vocational schools around Malaysia. The students will be studying for

  15

2 years from form 4 to form 5. There were 6 mainstream vocational schools that

have taken in these special needs students as shown in Table 1.8.

Table 1.8 Numbers of Special Needs Students in the Mainstream Vocational Schools.

Schools 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Langkawi, Kedah 8 2 0 0 0

Alor Setar, Kedah 0 0 16 29 18

Kerian, Perak 4 6 13 21 20

Batu Pahat, Johor 18 18 12 17 27

Tanah Merah, Kelantan 19 11 13 22 18

Keningau, Sabah 9 8 19 35 25

Total 58 45

73

124

109

Resource: Special Education Division 

Most of students were among the learning difficulties and the visual impaired

students. The courses that they were following were related to automotif, welding,

building, radio and TV repairing, processing food, furniture building, air-

conditioning and tailoring.

1.3.4 Schooled-Aged Children with Disabilities outside the Formal Education System

Education for children with disabilities is shared between Ministry of Education

and the Ministry of Woman, Family and Community Development. All children

with disabilities in Malaysia are required to register with the Social Welfare

Department to get a disabled identification card known as ‘OKU Card’ for them to

be eligible to obtain special allowances and other benefits provided by the

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government. Those students with disabilities in the primary and secondary

schools in the formal education system also need to register to get the ‘OKU

Card’. However, it is not compulsory for them to register for ‘OKU Card’ in order

to enroll into the government schools. Registration for the ‘OKU Card’ is not

compulsory and parents are not forced to do so.

Table 1.9 below describes both numbers of students in the formal education

system as well as those schooled-aged children with disabilities who are not in the

primary and junior secondary schools in Malaysia.

Table 1.9 Number of Children with Disabilities Registered in Social Welfare Department According to Gender and Type of Disabilities in Year 2006

Aged Group Visually Impaired

Hearing Impaired

Learning Disabilities

Others Total

M F M F M F M F M F

Less than 6 yrs 93 58 133 137 1,176 864 472 385 1,874 1,444

6-12 yrs 118 96 222 200 2,023 1,124 560 356 2,923 1,776

13-18 yrs 116 93 190 141 1,028 633 558 438 1,892 1,305

Total 327 247 545 478 4,227 2,621 1,590 1,179 6,689 4,525

Source: Department of Social Welfare, Malaysia M=Male F=Female

1.3.5 Reaching the out-of-school children with disabilities

The main approach adapts by the ministry in reaching the out-of-school children

with disabilities is to carry out outreach programs. Assisted by the staffs of Special

Education Service Centers, a team of professionals including officers from the

Special Education Division will make a trip to an identified remote place. The team

may consist of various experts from multi agencies such as the Health

Department, the Social Welfare Department, teachers, officers from registrar

office, psychologist, occupational therapist and others who could help the children

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as well as the parents at the remote place. The team will carry out screening and

diagnose tests on the children to identify those who may have disabilities. All the

data gathered by the team will be reported to the state and district education office

for them to take action whether they need to open new integrated classes in any

of the mainstream schools nearby.

Another approach that has been carried out and seem to show a good result in

increasing the enrollment of students with disabilities in the formal education

system is through the distribution of special needs allowances for all children with

disabilities no matter where they are either in schools or in the community centers

or sheltered workshops. At the same time information through flyers, seminar,

exhibitions, conferences and forums will be widely dispersed to the public to

increase the public awareness on issues related to disabilities as well as to inform

the public on the available program being offered by various agencies. The

ministry has spent substantial amount of funding every year in equipping the

school as well as improving the condition and quality of the road and

transportation for easy access to schools. It has been the ministry practices to

make sure the special education integrated programs are opened in the

mainstream schools that are near and easy for the parents to send their children.

The parents do not need to travel for a long distance to send their children to

school.

1.4 Legislation and Policies

The Malaysian Education Act 1996 established a legal foundation for the provision

of education and services for the children with special needs. As these different

categories of special needs students require specific intervention and support

services to help them in getting more effective learning experiences, the

Education Act 1996 was reviewed and updated through the enforcement of

Education Rules (Special Education) 1997. The rules create suitable options in

the national education system for special needs students. The Education Rules

  18

(Special Education) 1997 in Chapter 8 outlines the 3 options available for special

needs students: i) Special Education Schools, ii) Integrated Program in the

mainstream schools, and iii) Inclusive Program through partial or full inclusion. It

also describes how these students can follow the national mainstream curriculum

with suitable intervention and provision as elaborated in the rules:

“… teachers are allowed to modify method and approaches in teaching and

learning, time provisions in daily scheduled activities, subjects matter, and the

teaching aids that are more appropriate and suited the individual needs of these

special needs students for more quality education.”

Special education programs are further enhanced through the review on the

Education Act 2002 which enforces primary level education as compulsory

education. At the same time, through the strategic planning in the Education

Development Master Plan 2006-2010 the education gap between the mainstream

students and the special needs as well as other disadvantage group like the

indigenous children is shorten with better enrollment and achievement among

them.

Further, the government commitment in ensuring better access to quality

education is spelled out in the People with Disabilities Act 2008. The act said that

people with disabilities should not be excluded from the formal education system

on the basis of disabilities. They should have an equal access to vocational skills

training and life long learning programs under the education system. In planning

for better quality special education programs, Malaysia also follow the global

development and trend by trying it best in fulfilling the demands agreed on the

signed international declarations such as The Salamanca Statement (2004) and

The Right of persons With Disabilities, UN (2008). Although Malaysia has signed

the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 8 April 2008 but is yet

to ratify the convention. It has been suggested that perhaps the status of

SUHAKAM as a national human rights body has somehow contribute to the

problem. Although SUHAKAM was established by the Parliament under the

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, SUHAKAM’s mandate is to

  19

investigate human rights abuses but it can merely advise the Malaysian

government and nothing more. The basis for the promotion and protection of

human rights in Malaysia was enshrined in the Federal Constitution which

remained the primary source of law in Malaysia.

1.4.1 Difficulties in Creating Comprehensive Inclusive Setting

In creating inclusive education systems that respond to the varying needs of the

disabled children the government faces various difficulties such as:

i) Lack of public awareness on issues related to disabilities

ii) The discrimination and negative perception on the abilities of people

with disabilities

iii) Lack of disabled friendly facilities especially regarding transportation

facilities

iv) There is no continuous support service system that can assist

students in the transition process from home to school to work and

to adulthood

v) Lack of skillful teachers in special education areas

1.5 Budgetary Policies

The government has always been generous in its budget allocation for the daily

operation of the special education schools and integrated programs in the

mainstream schools in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning

process.

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1.5.1 ICT in Schools

Through the national development of ‘ICT in Schools’ (Pembestarian Sekolah)

during the 9th Malaysian Plan (2006 – 2010), special education programs have

received about 15 Million Malaysia Ringgit budget to improve the usage of

computer information technology in the teaching and learning processes. Table

1.10 summarized the allocation (15 million) spent in upgrading the computer

information technology system in special education schools.

Table 1.10: Budget for ICT Projects in Special Education Schools

Job Discription RM (million)

Special Information System 4.4

Hearing Impaired Workshop 3.3

Hearing Impaired Classes 3.0

Visual Impaired Workshop 1.7

Visual Impaired Classes 1.2

Self-learning centers 0.6

Workshops in 2 new schools 0.7

1.5.2 The Development Program

The total budget of RM 440 Million Ringgit had been received by MOE under the

development program of the 9th Malaysian Plan. The biggest chunk or 48 percent

(RM236 Million) was spent in upgrading the existing special education schools in

both primary and secondary levels as well as in building two more new special

education vocational schools. The other big amount of the budget was allocated in

upgrading remedial classes’ facilities as well as the expansion of special

education programs in mainstream schools which required adequate disabled

friendly facilities with adequate computer facilities to facilitate effective teaching

and learning process. Some amount (2 percent or about RM10 Million) also

alocated for the expansion of preschool classes in special education schools.

Table 1.11 summarized the distributions of the 9th Malaysian Plan budget.

  21

Table 1.11 9th Malaysia Plan Budget Allocations

ITEM Project Description Total Cost

(Million Ringgit)

1 Upgrading Special Education Schools Facilities and Building New Vocational Schools

236

2 Upgrading Remedial Classes Facilities 139

3 Upgrading Special Education Integrated Programs in the Mainstream Schools

40

Upgrading Computer Information Technology Facilities

15 4

5 Upgrading Special Education Pre-School Programs 10

Total Budget 440

On top of that, there is the annual budget and expenses to sustain the

development of the overall programs as summarized in Table 1.12. This regular

education budget provides funding for management of schools and supply of

specific forms of supports such as appropriate teaching materials, equipment and

devices. It has a priority to ensure enough funding is available to open more

integrated programs in the mainstream schools and providing necessary support

particularly in term of resource teachers and special equipment like brailler, audio

software and hearing aids to assist the students in inclusive setting.

  22

Table 1.12 Approximate Amount of Operating Costs for Special Education Schools

Year/Cost

(Million Ringgit)

2006 2007 2008 2009

Primary Schools 29,880 24,050 39,890 36,432

Secondary Schools 9,936 10,294 15,161 11,687

Total 39,816 34,344 55,051 48,119

In assisting the running of Special Education Integrated Programs in the

mainstream schools, various incentives have been given such as different rate of

Per Capital Grand (PCG) for different categories of disabilities. This PCG is

allocated based on per head count of the students in the programs as shown in

Table 1.13. This budget is allocated for the cost of buying teaching aids in

teaching and learning process.

Table 1.13 Rate of PCG for All Special Needs Students Based on Categories (Per Head Count)

Cost (Ringgit Malaysia)

Hearing Impaired Visual Impaired Learning Difficulties

ITEMS

Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Primary Secondary

Subjects (Teaching &

Learning) 205.00 1,190.00 350.00 625.00 180.00 225.00

Non-Subjects 232.00 355.00 262.00 395.00 232.00 355.00

Total 437.00 1,545.00 612.00 1,020.00 412.00 580.00

  23

For the schools with residential accommodation, the schools are allocated with

costs for food and equipment. The allocation is based on total number of special

needs students in the schools. The schools are also being allocated with an

amount of fund to run the co-curriculum activities.

1.5.3 Incentives for students and teachers

In supporting the students, the government also has allocated various monetary

incentives for students as well as for the teachers. The monthly allowance is

RM150 for students regardless of their placement either in the formal education

system (special schools and integrated programs) or in the community centers or

any private schools. These special needs students are not required to pay the

school’s fee and they are provided with free text book. The free school fees will

be on the annual fees of RM4.50 (primary education) and RM9.00 (secondary

education). Special needs students who stay in the hostel or school

accommodation do not need to pay the fees for the food.

They are also been given free accommodation in the special education schools

with the residential facilities. At present there are 18 special education schools

which are equipped with residential accommodation. Every year certain amount

depending on the granted amount of budget given has always been allocated

specifically to provide adequate brailler, hearing aid and audio visual software to

assist students in their learning. As for teachers who are teaching special

education classes will be getting allowance of RM250 monthly.

  24

1.6 Public Supports

The success of special education programs implemented is undoubtly associated

with the public acknowledgement especially the parents and the local community

at large.

1.6.1 Contributions from NGOs and Corporate Sectors

The MOE through smart partnership works together with the NGOs and the

corporate sectors in order to provide a wider spectrum of educational facilities an

expertise for education of special needs children. These ‘social resources’ are

also needed to sponsor seminars or organize short courses for teachers as well

as for parents and students concerned. In short, any form of cooperation by other

than government is greatly welcomed and appreciated. MOE is really working

together with others parties or social resources in community in order to achieve

the goal of ‘Education for All’ (EFA).

To ensure a positive working partnership within NGOs and MOE, A Technical

Committee is being set up to discuss issues pertaining the three categories of

disabilities. The Committee encompasses of government agencies, NGOs, and

academician from various universities. Issues are being identified during the

technical meetings and to be discussed further at the National Advisory Board of

Special Education Meeting. Proposals regarding on policy matters are being

presented at the meeting, chaired by the Director General of Education.

Resolutions agreed upon at the meeting will be brought forward to The Education

Planning Committee Meeting (EPU). This meeting is chaired by the Honorable

Minister of Education. Decision made during the meeting will be the foundation

for new policies in Special Education.

NGOs providing services in special education are as follows:

• There are at least four (4) strong and influential NGOs that provide services in

the field of hearing impairment, e.g. The National Society of the Deaf, The

  25

Society of the Deaf (at the state level), Malaysian Federation of the Deaf, and

Y Self Reliance Centre for the Deaf.

• For the education provision of visual impairment, Malaysian Association for the

Blind (MAB) and National Council for the Blind, Malaysia (NCBM) plays a

major role.

• Children with learning disabilities are being advocated and provided by The

Down Syndrome Association of Malaysia, The National Council for The

Association of Spastic Children Malaysia, National Autistic Society of Malaysia

(NASOM), Dyslexia Association, and Bethany Home.

• Among corporate bodies involved in providing services for children with special

needs are The Royal Rotary Club Kuala Lumpur, Media Prima Bhd.

(broadcasting agency), Sunway Medical (private hospital), Speech Unit

National University of Malaysia (public university), Tenaga National

Foundation (GLC), and Proctor & Gamble (multinational company).

Planning and implementation of early intervention and special education programs

in Malaysia are done through various cooperation and agreement of various

agencies including the government agencies, NGOs, private agencies and non-

government agencies. The partnership and cooperation with these various

agencies are strengthening through the discussion and agreement reach

collectively under the National Council of Persons with Disabilities coordinated by

both Ministers (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Woman, Family, and

Community Development). At present there is yet data to be gathered on all the

children with disabilities who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools run by

the NGOs, private and non-government organization. Each of the agencies

involved has managed to collect data that are near or it has direct access over it

for the purposes of operational objectives and planning.  

  26

1.6.2 The Outreach Program

The Outreach Program is the collective effort conducted by various experts in the

field of special education for people in rural areas who have no access to special

education and many are not keen on going to the State Education Department

individually for check-up on their children. Since 2005, MOE had conducted six

programs at different districts. They were about 300 children from every district

had underwent screening as part or the Outreach Program. The screening

process consists of filtering process such as visual and hearing, testing for autism,

Down’s syndrome and Dyslexia as well as cognitive assessment. The objective is

to identify special students and provide them with proper education. In average,

25 children had been identified and certified as disabled students from every

district and they will get proper help from MOE, Welfare Department and other

government or private agencies.

1.6.3 Working with International Body

MOE is also working closely with international body such as Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) in providing educational services for children with

special needs in Malaysia. Currently they are three JOCV volunteers being

placed to assists in the field of special education for the MOE.

The main objective of this corporation is for knowledge transfer from the Japanese

trained personals as Japan is already advance in special education program. By

sharing its professional expertise, JICA works hand in hand with its Malaysian

counterparts in providing educational services for children with special needs

through various programs:

• In house training conducted by volunteers at their designated centers. Special

Education Teachers are introduced to latest technique and ‘hands- on ‘in

teaching children with special needs.

  27

• Sharing of specific skills and expertise in the area of behavior management,

especially in area of special education which is relatively ‘new’ in Malaysia

.e.g. Autism and ADHD.

• Assisting the ministry and states department in facilitating courses and

workshop for special education teachers within the state.

Besides that, MOE will keep on sending officers to NISE, Japan to learn new

approach and knowledge as well as for attachment to special school under the

supervision of experts from NISE. In order to make sure schools buildings are

accessible to children with disabilities it is compulsory for any new building to

follow the standard requirement described in the brief project for establishing new

program and new classes.

1.7 Quality of Teachers and Teacher’s Training Programs

Quality teaching and learning experiences will depend on the knowledge and

skills teacher posses in engaging more meaningful learning. In term of special

education teachers, the MOE has constantly trained adequate supply of teachers

according to demand each year. In general, there are adequate numbers of

special education teachers teaching each subject provided in the national

curriculum. MOE has been putting substantial efforts in making sure the supply of

teachers is adequate to achieve the suitable teacher student ratio that has been

proposed. Both at the primary and secondary education the standard norm is 1:

6.5.

However, MOE is facing difficulty in providing enough trained and skillful teachers

who are efficient in managing, teaching and caring for all the different categories

of special needs students ranging from the hearing impaired to visual impaired

and the learning difficulties students. Among the learning difficulties students

there will be wider categories of individuals for example the Autism, Syndrome

Down, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and the dyslexic students

  28

who require different set of intervention and instructional strategies to engage in

more meaningful educational experiences in schools.

Quality and skillful teachers are needed to be adequately trained to teach these

students more effectively. Teachers Training Division in the ministry provides both

regular pre-service and in-service teacher’s training to meet the demand for

mainstream teachers general and specifically special education teachers. This

division will train the new teachers through the pre-services program in many of

Teachers Training Institutes around Malaysia. These institutes are directly run by

the Teachers Training Division under the Ministry of Education. Another approach

for pre-service training will be to take education degree courses or diploma in the

public universities around Malaysia. National University Malaysia or widely known

as UKM is among the famous university that offers various courses in special

education areas.

Most of the pre-service teacher training courses focus on the general education

requirement of equipping teachers with adequate and necessary pedagogy values

as well as the information regarding all children developmental milestone and

skills in teaching and learning process. The entry qualification to enroll in pre-

service teachers training courses will be to have SPM (Malaysian High School

Certificate) and undergraduate degree. Pre-service teacher training course with

school-based mode allows appointed temporary teachers to be awarded with

teaching qualification for permanent teacher position. All permanent teachers can

upgrade their skills by going through in-service training courses offer by various

universities and teaching institutions. In order to equip special education teachers

with specific skills and knowledge to teach the students with diverse abilities, the

Special Education Division through its’ training unit will send teachers to courses

that have been customized to suit the need of the course. Both pre-service and in-

service training curriculums focus on important traits such as skills, positive

attitudes, up to date knowledge and expertise to ensure effective teaching

process.

  29

In order to ensure all special education teachers are equipped with adequate

knowledge and skills to handle each type of students with diverse individual needs

for effective learning processes, MOE continuously send as many teachers as

possible each year to increase and upgrade the teachers’ knowledge and skills in

specific areas of special education such as managing Individual Educational Plan

(IEP), sign language skills, Braille skills, speech therapy, mobility, and others as

required and needed to assist them in teaching. This will allow special education

teachers to give more attention to the individual needs of these students to be

able to tap on their real potential and abilities regardless of their disabilities.

In promoting Education for All (EFA) principles and moving towards inclusive

education, MOE has increased the number of special education integrated

program in the mainstream school at both primary and secondary levels allowing

more special needs students to go for formal education. There are now 1,184

programs at primary schools and 512 programs at secondary mainstream

schools. As a result more special education teachers are needed in the

mainstream schools and these teachers will play a big role in integrating the

special needs students with their non-disabled peers in the school for better

communication and socializing opportunities to prepare them for successful

transition to adulthood and employment.

By 2009, the operation data showed that MOE has managed to provide more than

90 percent of total numbers of teachers needed as projected. The detail numbers

of teachers as of 30 Mac 2009 is as followed:

Table 1.14 Total Numbers of Teachers as Projected

Level of Education

Projection (Demand)

Supply (Trained)

Temporary (Untrained)

Total

Primary 6149 5188 383 11,720

Secondary 3617 2745 186 6,548

Resource: Special Education Division

  30

Among the challenges in providing adequate supply of teachers will be due to the

enrollment trend of these special needs students. Enrollment to special education

classes in the integrated programs is rather flexible allowing these special needs

children to enter the schools through out the year without specific fixed date of

registration. Once these children have been diagnosed by the medical

practitioner, parents can request their children to be placed in the schools through

the State Education offices nearest them. By and large, the State Education

Department has to identify suitable schools and provide adequate trained

teachers and ensure necessary facilities are provided once the new class is to be

opened. The biggest challenge for MOE in ensuring efficient capacity building-

training for in service and pre-service teachers is to provide adequate numbers of

special education teachers who are knowledgeable and skillful in teaching,

educating and caring for each students with diverse needs in all categories of

students with disabilities.

Through Special Education Support Service Centers or normally known as 3PK,

teachers are trained with special skills in providing support services such as

speech therapy, audiologist, occupational therapist, and etc. These teachers are

placed in these 3PK centers to assist students, teachers, parents as well as the

local community around the centers. Currently there are 20 trained teachers

placed in the eight 3PK centers throughout Malaysia. Those students and parents

who needed help and assistance can come to the centers or for the staffs from

the centers can go to the schools or places that need their supports and

assistances.

1.8 Stigma and Discrimination Issues

Government awareness on the diverse needs of these special educational

students has been increased with the evidence of various support services made

available in schools. In order to be eligible and qualified to receive many

educational benefits provided by the government, the children need to be

  31

diagnosed and confirmed by the medical practitioners. Once confirmed on the

category of disabilities, they need to register with the Social Welfare Department

to get the identification card which will be used to claim the benefits.

Unfortunately, there is still a stigma existed in the society especially among

parents. There are still parents who are reluctant to take their children to be

diagnosed by the medical practitioner even after being advised by schools. The

parents seem could not accept that their children are disabled. This resulted in

having these students to struggle with the learning in schools without suitable

intervention program that could help them. The public perception and thinking

level has not yet reached a satisfying level which lead to discrimination and

negative attitudes of people surrounding them. Nevertheless it affects the

students’ own perception making them less confident to when facing their peers at

schools and the society overall. There was a case reported that several hearing

impaired students would take off their hearing aids to avoid the public negative

judgment on being recognized as disabled once they wore it.

To help ease the negative public perception on disabled individual, MOE has

constantly over the years carried out outreach programs, seminar, talks and forum

to increase the public awareness and knowledge in special education and

disabilities related issues. These various intervention programs indirectly have

managed to educate the public in the needs of disabled friendly facilities such as

ram, railing, special toilet, information printed in Braille for the blind and etc.

Partnership with other governmental and nongovernmental agencies in planning

and implementing special education programs is able to increase the people

awareness of the right to children and youth with disabilities to participate in

education at all levels.

Despite all the facilities provided there will be time when some of these disabled

children may be excluded from the free and compulsory primary and secondary

education on the basis of their disability. As outlined in the rules and regulation of

special education (1997), MOE will take in those special needs students who are

with mild disability, cognitively able, and able to manage daily living activities

  32

without the help of others near him or her. The more severe children will be taken

care by the community centers run by the Social Welfare Department or the NGO

because they are capable of providing special care with the help of Ministry of

Health (MOH) in providing better treatment and health care services to be able to

actively carry out daily living skills. In the formal education system, it focuses on

the physical, emotion, spiritual, and intellectual development of the students

allowing the students to continue for further higher education level to be able to

obtain some sort of employment and life independently. Due to having serious

health problem with constant therapy, medication and intervention, the students

will definitely need to be treated with more specialized care which will not be

offered in the education but rather under jurisdiction of MOH, Social Welfare

Department and relevant NGOs.

It has been a big challenge for the education system to comprehensively plan to

respond to the varying needs of the disabled children. Bigger challenge posed in

creating effective inclusive primary and secondary education. Several factors

such as lack of understanding and awareness among teachers and schools

administrators in the mainstream schools, lack of support services, and lack of

skillful teachers in handling the diverse needs of the students will form barriers

towards better quality education programs. Furthermore, the tendency of putting

too much emphasis on the academic achievement would posed difficulties for

these students to compete with their peers when there is no support by resource

teachers or teachers aids.

1.9 From Special schools to Inclusive Regular Schools

As explained earlier, these special needs students have two options either to go

to special education school or integrated program in the mainstream schools.

Currently there is no specific regulation or procedure in students’ placement. It is

done based on the teachers’ judgment whether the students can cope up with the

national curriculum. It is not based on the biological age but rather on the

  33

students’ academic performance. Those students who are identified as capable of

following the national curriculum it is suggested for them to be placed in the

integrated program under the inclusive setting. Through the inter-ministry

collaboration, all children are required to be diagnosed by the medical

practitioners to determine the categories of disabilities. Those diagnosed with

severe disabilities are suggested to be placed into the community service centers

under the Social Welfare Department. Those children identified as visual

impaired and hearing impaired are suggested to be placed in the special

education schools as these schools are equipped with facilities for the visual and

hearing impaired. Teachers who have been trained in handling the visual and

hearing impaired are placed in these special schools. Children with learning

difficulties and mild retardation are suggested to be placed into integrated classes

in the mainstream schools. Children regardless of their disabilities who can follow

the national curriculum are suggested to be placed into the inclusive setting under

the integrated programs.

In order to better fulfill and protect the right to education of disabled children, more

schools should be equipped with disable friendly facilities and special

accommodation, provision and intervention should be made available for these

children to be able to learn in the mainstream schools. All the stakeholders

involve particularly the teachers and parents who play the most important roles in

these students’ education. Their roles can be enhanced through the better

implementation of Individual Educational Plan (IEP) where all members in the IEP

team understand their roles and agreed on the students’ achievement and

progress as well as the students’ weaknesses that need to be tackled together for

better result and satisfaction among all the stakeholders. At the same time, the

government should work on promoting advocacy especially for the disabled

children themselves where they will be able to voice up their preferences in the

learning processes.

  34

Part 2: Towards a Comprehensive Framework

Introduction:

The success of an inclusive approach in education for the special needs students

is largely depend on the support and intervention they receive through out their

education. Support and understanding from parents and teachers is most

important to ensure adequate supports for the students. The education system

needs to draw attention in improving the role of teachers to meet the students’

diverse expectations and needs. Teachers through school can be the key player

in getting the parents, the community and all stakeholders involved in special

education to cooperate and work in a better partnership to get a quality primary

and secondary education. This is parallel to the focus of the report in the 48th

session of the International Conference on Education (ICE) 2008 in Geneva with

the theme of “Inclusive Education: the Way of the Future”. The report focused on

partnership and teachers training quality. In order to go for quality education, the

proposed priority objectives of special education programs should emphasis on

promoting more effective partnership between parents and schools to be able to

create foundation for better support service system.

Barriers to Inclusive Education

In order to prevent disabled children from being excluded from free and

compulsory primary and secondary education, the system should remove barriers

faced by the students on the basis of disability. The most important barrier will be

the limited access to information due to disability factors. Information is important

in gaining knowledge and getting positive learning experiences in schools. For

example, the hearing impaired students will need hearing aid to understand the

audio verbal messages. The second barrier to overcome is in communicating

effectively with the parents, teachers and the community at large. There are still

public stigma and discrimination when dealing with people with disabilities. Bias

  35

and misconception still existed even in a civilized and developing society. It is

important to expose them and make them understand the students’ abilities and

capabilities as the active members of the community no matter how small the

contribution will be.

The stakeholders need to know what the students likes, dislikes, strengths and

needs, abilities and challenges in order to plan for quality special education

programs. The third important barrier will be the needs of specific and constant

rehabilitation or medical attention due to the severity of the disabilities problem. A

partnership through multi disciplinary team involving professionals outside the

MOE is strongly called for to assist students with related disability issues.

Partnership is a road map to assist all participants involving in providing special

education provisions to move in a common direction with the same destination in

mind. The three key ingredients that can help to foster great and effective

partnership are: two-way mutual respect, ongoing communication, and shared

goals. As a result, teachers, parents, community members and overall educators

can play better roles in planning and implementing special education programs to

benefit all students regardless of their disabilities.

Proposed Priority Objectives

In order to remove all the barriers aforementioned, the proposed priority objective

will be to provide continuous support service system through out the education

process as part of a long life learning approach. The building block of this will be

the effective partnership between parents and teachers. The wider involvement

and cooperation among parents and teachers will lead to greater understanding

among the community members. Through this partnership, those involved in

special education can share information, knowledge, understanding, experiences,

abilities, ideas and attitudes to come up with an agreement in making the best

decisions throughout the process of learning in schools. The partnership can

  36

promote better understanding on the roles and responsibilities that they should

play in assisting and supporting these youth.

In order for the partnership to work effectively it will need the support through

appropriate policy and legislation that protects the right and provides the

necessary special educational provisions to help them to go through the schooling

years with better outcomes which can improve their adult lives. So, the second

proposed priority objective will be to focus on establishing better policies that

clearly define the roles of parents and teachers as well as the school in providing

support services. Emphasis on the rights of the students as well as the teachers

and parents expectation and as the stakeholders need to be described and

elaborated clearly in the policies and legislations. The policy should also clearly

explain the leaderships’ roles of the school principles because with the right

understanding and attitude they can provide professional support to promote the

partnership.

Another proposed priority objective will be to promote special education programs

that focus on enhancing knowledge and skills of both parents and teachers in

understanding related disabilities issues. Special education teachers need to

have knowledge and abilities to tackle both students and parents. They need to

play bigger role in educating and advising parents and students through effective

learning instructions in class. As every child is unique and classrooms consist of

students with different and diverse characteristics and ability levels and needs,

teachers need to make decisions about content, resources, instructional design

and assessment practice within the framework of MOE guidelines. It is the role of

special education teachers to collaborate with other teachers, support staff and

administrators to shape a student’s educational program.

Responding to Varying Needs of the Disabled Children

Another set of specific proposed priority objectives are required to create inclusive

primary and secondary education systems that respond to the varying needs of

  37

the disabled children. Firstly, the proposed priority objective is to have a clear

definition of disabilities taking into consideration those children under the

categories of multiple disabilities who were not included in the existing education

act. Through a strong multi disciplinary partnership with adequate support and

care more special needs children with severe disabilities will be allowed into the

free and compulsory education. Schools can help foster the partnership by

ensuring that schools have a clear policy regarding partnership as parents don’t

always know about equity, clarify roles and responsibilities of parents and

teachers and other professionals. The policy should provide written information on

how and where parents can get support for their children.

Secondly, the proposed priority objective will be to focus on early intervention

programs. The formal education system needs to allow these early intervention

programs to start at the very early age less than 4 years old. Services for young

disabled children and parents need to start at the first antenatal visit. This will

mean that not only advice on health in pregnancy, but also on preparation for

parenthood, after the birth, advice on childcare options and support services

available. The next important proposed priority objective is to make sure that the

teaching and learning process will aim at developing the wholesomeness of the

students as member of the society. Special education is not all about teaching

class room curriculum. It aims at developing behavioral, emotional and social

skills in disabled children so that they can cope and feel comfortable in any social

settings, and become aware of socially acceptable behavior.

Another crucial proposed priority objective is to develop more programs that

allowing these disabled children to go for skills training beside the existing

academic programs. Those with low academic performances will be able to excel

through their abilities and talents in vocational skills courses. Education system

needs to provide more opportunities to go for skills education pathways until the

tertiary level of education. The skills will help the students to seek employment or

go for further training after they finish secondary education. At the same time, the

  38

vocational curriculum need to equally focus on mastering the workplace skills as

well as interpersonal skills.

The Rationale of Proposed Priority Objectives

In order for the MOE to move towards a comprehensive framework in improving

the quality of special education programs, more efforts need to be gathered on

establishing a continuous support service system to assist the students in the

learning process. The initial step in building a continuous support service system

will be to establish a partnership especially between parents and teachers.

Parents and teachers are two of the most important individuals influencing and

assisting the SEN youth throughout their life. Improved levels of involvement and

communication between both parties are necessary to help the students acquire

an improved ‘self-advocacy’ in making crucial decisions. Starting in the home

these youth will need the support of family members and then in school they will

need the support of teachers, the school staff as well as their peers.

Next to family and school, another important tie will be the social support from the

community. Strong family ties will lead to better social ties which through

friendship and peer support will help these students to effectively play their roles

in the society.  The linkage is presented by the three most important circles in the

framework which are support services (multi disciplinary and multi agencies

cooperation), parents (family ties and relationship) and teachers (school

promoting social ties). The biggest aim of this partnership is to create linkage

between parents, teachers, and the community for them to be able to work

together to build a strong and continuous support system to help the students in

experiencing more successful learning experiences.

But for a real partnership to occur, educators must look at ways in which the

school can initiate this involvement. In such a partnership, the school and the

home share responsibility for children's learning; the relationship is based on

mutual respect and acknowledgment of the assets and expertise of each member.

  39

Parents and teachers working together are the very best support for children. The

support available during the early intervention program will better prepare them for

primary education. Moreover, the continue supports available through family and

school will assist students in their transitions to secondary education, higher

education as well as to employment and adulthood.

The concept of building a continuous support system through the strong

partnership of parents and teachers (represented by the mark area) can be best

explained by the figure 2.1 below. The priority of all support services made

available is to achieve the best outcomes for all disabled children. The support will

help them to be happier, healthier and safer, more fulfilled and achieve more

learning together with the non-disabled peers in the inclusive education.

Figure 2.1: Proposed Framework for Continuous Support Services

A B 

C 

Parent

Community

Teacher

Support 

Services 

Description of the Figure 2.1

The diagram summarises the discussion on getting a continuous support services

in promoting inclusive primary and secondary education. It focuses on an

approach with strong partnership between the two most important persons: the

  40

parents and the school community which will improve their roles in providing

better support for special needs students.

Proposed Interventions Options:

In order to achieve each of the proposed priority objectives identified above,

several proposed interventions options need to be established. The most vital

intervention option will be to comprehensively implement the Individual Education

Plan (IEP) in the education system. The Individual Education Program Plan (IEP)

is a written plan developed by the parents and the schools special education team

that specifies the education goals and the method to obtain these goals. This

clearly stated the building block of IEP which is the parent teacher smart and

collaborative partnership. IEP serves to focus on learning activities, facilitate

communication between parents and the school (teachers), and also provide

accountability (both parties are held responsible in deciding what best of the

students). Preparation and the process of IEP provides opportunities for parents,

teachers, school administrators and others involved with the students to address

collectively the learning needs of the students and to design a program which best

addresses the varying needs of the special needs students.

In general, the development of IEP has always been guided by important factors

such as the strength of the child, and the concerns of the parents for enhancing

the education of the child. A comprehensive and clear policy can aid the success

of the IEP implementation in the education system. The policy needs to describe

the importance of IEP and it is a right of a special needs student to have an IEP

once they are enrolled in formal education system. The policy should be

completed with recommendations regarding procedures to ensure the greatest

efficiency in the implementation of the IEP. By implementing a clear policy

statement on IEP, it is believed that the students’ difficulties in school can be

overcome by parents, teachers and students working together to realize the actual

potential of the students. IEP can be regard as a progress record of the students

  41

describing the strength, the weaknesses and the potential that they have to

continue their life or go for ling life learning. IEP team will help students in

overcoming the identified difficulties in all aspects of learning, social needs,

communication and interpersonal skills which will allow students to positively

participate in school activities along side their non-disabled peers to get effective

learning experiences.

Another intervention option is to implement the Individual Transition Plan (ITP) for

the special needs students starting from the pre-school and primary to secondary

and post secondary education. This ITP is the continue effort of supporting special

needs students as stated and agreed in the IEP document. A transition plan is the

section of the IEP that outlines transition goals and services for the student. It is

based on the student’s individual needs, strengths, skills and interests. Generally

when refer to transition plan many will think of the transition from school to young

adulthood or career development. However, in order to ensure better preparation

for readiness to go for primary and secondary education through inclusive setting,

these students need to be continuously supported to go through various stages

from the early intervention program to preschool, primary and secondary

education and perhaps to higher education and employment world. Undoubtly,

ITP will emphasize on the factors including post-secondary education, the

development of career and vocational skills, as well as the ability to live

independently in order to maximize the student’s future success.

Transition plan will provide concrete action steps need to be taken to guide and

prepare for a smoother transition from pre-school to primary and secondary

education as well as to college and /or a career, and for independent living.

Transition services, provided by knowledgeable educators and community

resources, can be tailored to a student’s goals and strengths and provide them

with options for better education pathways and plans for future. This calls for a

more comprehensive transition planning which not only focus on the career

development but also on the whole developmental milestone of students including

the cognitive, social, and physical development. Focus on this developmental

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milestone in special education is vital because children normally develop at their

own paces and therefore it is impossible to tell exactly when a child will learn the

skills. It will be worst for special needs students, due to their disabilities special

education teachers as well as parents need bigger guide to the child development

in order to identify the learning needs equivalent with the developmental

milestone.

Literally, many of the teaching and learning processes in the classroom tend to

perhaps unintentionally ignore the focus on this developmental milestone. In

Malaysia or may be in other countries as well, big focus on academic

performances tends to turn away the teachers’ attention on recognizing the need

to make sure the learning content covers all three aspects of the developmental

milestone. Teachers seem to drag on the same learning objective hoping the

students will master the identified skills. Teachers did not realize that as the

students grow they will need different types of skills to live independently.

Enforcement of IEP and ITP through a clear policy statements and legislations

can better assist students in the inclusive education. Students with strong

personality and self confident will be able to communicate effectively with peers

and teachers. It will be a positive reinforcement for parents and teachers as well

as the public to gain more information, knowledge and skills in providing supports

to the students by their responsibilities required in the IEP and ITP.

The next important intervention relates to the curriculum design. Curriculum

review needs to focus on vocational skills enable many more students to go

further in education. Vocational and extra-curricular activities for students with

special education needs are an important aspect of curriculum development. The

focuses are to promote independent living, and to prepare the students for

employment. A vocational emphasis must be placed across the curriculum at all

stages of the development of special needs children. The curriculum also needs

to give the students opportunities in experiencing a range of skills learning

activities as well as short-term job placements. Extracurricular and out-of-school

activities are found to provide opportunities for independence and success. In

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addition, these activities can also be used as an aid to regular classroom work

such as activities in drama, art, craft, music and physical education. Its can also

promote language activities making the whole curriculum accessible to children

with disabilities.

School can provide the students with economic independence, access to the

wider range of community resources and services, and the chance to have

satisfying relationships with others by putting equal emphasis on cognitive and

technical skills as well as social and communication skills. Sufficient focus also

needs to be put on the affective dimensions of learning: feelings, emotions, and

self-esteem. As our emotions are integral to learning, when we ignore the

emotional components of any subject taught, it deprives students of

meaningfulness. An expansion of the concept team-teaching can enhance the

quality of the learning environment suited to a more integrated and inclusive

model of support for these special needs students.

Criteria for Prioritizing Interventions

Based on the listed interventions, the most feasible to be conducted is to

comprehensively implement the IEP and ITP. In Malaysia, even though IEP has

been practiced since the early establishment of special education programs but it

was only for the learning difficulties students. This existing IEP has been a subject

based rather which neglects important aspects of social and communication and

affective dimensions of learning. It is a high time in the development of special

education after nearly 50 years of its first establishment, the concept of IEP need

to be redefined and cover all categories of special needs students. In order to be

successful, the IEP needs to be comprehensive, standard, functional, and user

friendly.

It must be comprehensive fulfilling the needs of all special needs categories as

described in the Education Act as well as the People with Disabilities Act. The

individual needs of the students must be adequately and sufficiently taken care of

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covering all aspects of the developmental milestone and it should not be focused

only on academic goals. It need to comprehensively described the issues or

problems faced by students and the strategies to help them overcome the

problems. It states the involvements, commitments, responsibilities and

agreements between parents and teachers on issues with the students learning

experiences. It also describes the types of supports and aids needed to assist the

learning process and to go for smoother transitions from all levels of education

phases.

It will use a standard form for all categories of disabilities. So, it is easily

accessible and teachers can make a copy as required. Parents, teachers and

other users will not have problem in reading and understanding the form as it is

user friendly and in simple language. The IEP form will be accompanied by a clear

guidelines kit and samples which can be followed in completing it. Any individual

who read the IEP document will understand the information described in it. It

describes the functional aims supporting by short and long term objectives in

getting the most effective learning experiences. The discussion, review and

assessment done are reported and agreed by the IEP team members. It specifies

when and what further action or feedbacks need to be taken in the transition

processes. The document can be part of the students’ achievement record

particularly on the psychometric assessment in the school based assessment

concept.

Part 3: Recommended Priority Intervention

Special education is not all about teaching class room curriculum. It aims at

developing behavioral, emotional and social skills in disable children so that they

can cope and feel comfortable in any social settings, and become aware of

socially acceptable behavior. It is not an easy task to accomplish. It requires the

collaborative partnership especially from parents, teachers and support services

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providers. To get these people to work together will be through the IEP. The IEP

process will also take into consideration on the academic ability, developmental

milestone, and functional needs of the child to better prepare them in inclusive

primary and secondary education. As a result the priority objective is to

comprehensively implementing IEP in the education system. This will not only

assist the special needs but also those students with exceptional and intellectual

abilities. It will help to identify the support and interventions needed to assist these

students.

The priority policy is to define clearly what IEP is as well as the concept, the

process, the aims and outcomes. It also describes who, when, how and what are

the IEP team members’ responsibilities. Information, knowledge, skills and

experiences are powerful factors in ensuring a successful IEP implementation.

The main key players are the teachers and parents. They need to be trained with

more knowledge in disabilities related issues involving IEP process, specific care,

medical term, and skills in behavior modification and psychological approaches to

better handling the diverse needs of the students. Smart partnership with the

NGOs that have adequate facilities and professional staffs can help in training

teachers as well as parents through activities of sharing and exchanging

knowledge, skills and experiences.

In Malaysia special education program has its own uniqueness. The education

system has its own special education support service centers to provide the

needed support services such as speech therapy, audiologist, occupational

therapy, counseling parents as well as providing free hearing aid and resource

teachers. Parents, students and teachers can come to the centers for services or

schools can request the staffs to go to school to help the students. These centers

are equipped with necessary facilities like therapy rooms, special equipment like

audiometer for hearing test and etc. Special trained teachers are placed in the

centers. The centers also provide services for screening and diagnosing the

disabilities with the help from the hospitals and psychologist. This special

education support service centers which known as ‘3PK’ also initiate outreach and

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early intervention program starting from children from birth. The early intervention

programs conducted by the centers have shown that it help the children readiness

to go to school for formal education. The intervention and rehabilitation programs

help the children to feel confident, ready and eager to go to schools. The centers

build partnership with hospital and other NGOs centers to share and exchange

ideas, knowledge and skills.

As a conclusion, the most important thing is to establish a good and effective

continuous support system to assist the students throughout the education

process. The best way to achieve this will be through a strong partnership

between parents and teachers. The IEP can help the system to establish better

and effective partnership in special education. Once the parents understand their

children problems, weaknesses and strengths, they will want to work well with the

schools. They are aware of their children progress and will stop from always

complaining with the system. It eliminates the

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