KUALA LUMPUR – The Education Ministry is in the process of implementing a new initiative called the Inclusive Education Programme, which is created to allow all students to learn together regardless of their needs.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek said that the programme was conceived as the government has resolved to ensure every school-age child – regardless of location, gender or economic status – has equal access to high-quality education.
In particular, the ministry is aiming to ensure that students with special needs have fair and even access to education.
“The [programme] is also an important step towards achieving the goals of the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013–2025.
“We want all students to have the opportunity to learn and grow…the [programme] will help us to create a more inclusive education system that benefits all students,” she told The Vibes.
Fadhlina pointed out that the programme will be implemented in all schools across the country.
Each school will be required to establish a special education committee to plan and implement the programme for their pupils.
The committee will be responsible for appointing assistant teachers to support such students, and for providing training to teachers and other school staff.
“We have also established 13 special education service centres to provide support services to special needs students.
“These centres will offer a range of services, including audiology, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, and physiotherapy.
“We believe that every child has the potential to learn, and [the programme] is one way that we are working to make this happen,” she added.
The ministry is also poised to roll out the District Transformation Programme under the education development plan, Fadhlina said.
This is a strategic initiative designed to empower state education departments and district education offices to spearhead targeted interventions aimed at enhancing school performance.
She also stressed that five core aspirations were outlined in the education development plan with the ultimate goal of ensuring Malaysians are equipped with strong values, skills, and well-being.
“We intend to introduce a meticulously structured, job-grade and career-path-aligned continuous professional development programme,” she said.
“Our upcoming endeavours also encompass the professional empowerment of education service officers, with particular emphasis on educators and lecturers.
“We will also consistently reinforce the professionalism of teachers, contributing to the realisation of students’ aspirational goals,” Fadhlina said.
In June this year, the ministry had announced plans to amend the rules on school admission to ensure children, including non-citizens and those undocumented, have access to education.
The amendments to the Education Regulations (Admission of Pupils to School, Register Keeping and Conditions for Retaining Pupils at School) 1998 will apply to admission to government and government-aided schools.
The Vibes had reported yesterday another ministry plan for a new Pedagogy and Learning (PdP) method through a pilot hybrid classroom for 110 selected educational institutions, involving 550 classrooms.
The aim of the pilot hybrid classroom is to blend digital and face-to-face PdP within the same ecosystem.
“All these classrooms will have upgraded electrical wiring and be equipped with digital facilities such as smartboards, smart TVs, camera sets, and audio recorders (air mics),” said Fadhlina.
“The internal network infrastructure (Local Area Network or LAN) will also be upgraded to enable internet access in all these classrooms.” – The Vibes, August 30, 2023
.jpg)
.jpg)
