KUALA LUMPUR – Several states in the second, third and fourth phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) commenced face-to-face sessions for their students yesterday.
Among these are students in programmes classified under “special needs” and “integrated special needs” who are starting to attend classes without rotation.
The Vibes visited SMK Sultan Abdul Samad in Petaling Jaya, which runs the integrated special needs programme, to see how students and teachers are coping while engaging in face-to-face classes and outdoor activities in the garden areas.
Teachers were seen interacting from a good distance with the students, who were themselves socially distanced from each other in classes, with their tables and chairs set well apart.
About 28 students were in attendance in SMK Sultan Abdul Samad’s special classes, out of an enrolment of 65, during our visit on Monday. The number did not include the hearing impaired students located on a separate upper floor.
While the teachers were happy to be engaged with their students in face-to-face sessions, there was apprehension about the students’ inability to express themselves in case they felt ill or had higher temperatures than usual.
A special education teacher, who only wanted to be known as Suguna and has been teaching for the past 10 years, said it was initially difficult for the pupils to understand the precautionary regulations to prevent Covid-19 infection.
“Many of them do not understand what a standard operating procedure means, and this requires teachers to put in extra effort and explain social distancing to the students when necessary,” she said.
A parent who also only wanted to be known as Kasturi shared how relieved she was that her daughter was now attending face-to-face classes after a long time.
It was difficult to secure the child’s attention in online classes during the strict lockdown period, as she was unable to sit for long periods of time.
“My daughter also missed her friends. They used to keep in close contact over the phone sometimes.
“But from her smile on the first day of school, I know she is happy,” said Kasturi, who hoped that the teachers would be patient in explaining the meaning and importance of SOPs to their students.
Che Ann Abdul Ghani, a senior lecturer at Universiti Putra Malaysia and advocate for autism support, said her own child attended a government school with classes for special needs children.
“The school provides a healthy learning environment for special needs students because they gain useful independent living skills in the long term,” she said.
“Teachers must be caring and committed in dealing with them, and in the case of SOPs, extra care must be taken as most of the special needs children are not yet vaccinated.”
Dr Madhyazhagan Ganesan, a senior education lecturer and clinical consultant at Universiti Malaya, said the inability of special education students to fully comprehend the meaning of social distancing and SOPs is understandable.
He added that Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin has, after much engagement with stakeholders such as teachers, principals, and parent-teacher associations, made a decision on the opening of schools.
“In the case of special needs classes, it is even more important as children do better overall with face-to-face teaching rather than home-based teaching and learning,” he said.
Madhya, who has more than 25 years of experience in hands-on teaching of special needs students, believes that they are in dire need of face-to-face teaching, as most have been isolated in their homes for a long time due to the pandemic.
At the primary school level, a check at SK Sultan Alam Shah, Petaling Jaya, found it also a hive of activity as teachers were in classes with their special needs students.
According to a teacher, out of an enrolment of 69, 40 had turned up for classes, indicating the interest of the students to attend classes.
National Union of Teaching Professions secretary-general Wang Heng Suan said the opening of schools nationwide, after being closed for a long time, will create a safe environment that will help to restore the student’s spirits.
He said that he hoped all school administrators and teachers would follow the guidelines provided to ensure compliance with SOPs. – The Vibes, October 5, 2021
