Juma’ani (center) interacting with one of the trainees at the centre while Abang Johari (second right) and others look on. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi.
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is looking into setting up a special primary school to cater for children with special needs, modelling it after a similar school in Australia.
According to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Datuk Openg, a study to mull this proposal has just started and Minister of Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Education Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah has been entrusted to conduct the study.
He noted that there is an increasing trend of students with special needs in densely populated areas like Kuching, Miri and Sibu.
“Due to the trend, we are thinking about having a special school for these children with all the facilities that they need. Maybe we will form a unit to manage this suggestion…have gotten a piece of land in mind for it which is accessible to everyone,” he said when met after the launching of the Datuk Amar Hajah Juma’ani Welfare Centre at Jalan Kulas, here today.
“We will take a (special) primary school in Australia as our model.”
He said the proposed special primary school, once set up, will not only cater to autistic children but also for other children with special needs as well.
Abang Johari said the special primary school will have highly trained teachers and doctors who specialise in the field.
He explained that focus is put on primary school because by they time they have completed, they would have improved by at least 50 per cent and can continue progress to the secondary school.
On newly launched Datuk Amar Hajah Juma’ani Welfare Centre, he said the centre which is fully equipped with facilities was built as the previous Sri Satok Community Based Rehabilitation Centre at Jalan Muda Hashim here was getting overcrowded.