Yeoh (fifth right) speaking to reporters at SMK Luak.
MIRI: The federal government is going to the ground to find out the actual needs of schools in Sarawak and identify the facilities and manpower needed under the Zero Reject Policy for special needs students (OKU).
Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh said that Putrajaya was serious in tackling any issues or challenges arising from the introduction of the policy.
“According to data up to Oct 17 last year from the Ministry of Education, a total of 13,474 new registrations for OKU students were received under Zero Reject Policy.
“With this huge increase, we need to provide all the necessary support to the schools and teachers involved. If not, we will all ‘sink’,” she said.
Hannah told reporters this when visiting SMK Luak here today to get feedback on the school’s Special Education Integrated Programme (PPKI) as part of a working visit to schools and Community-Based Rehabilitation Centres (PDK) here.
She added that the federal government wished to hear from PDK, as well as the Health Ministry, on how they would ensure that special needs students would be given the best service possible.
“After one year (Zero Reject Policy implemented), we want to hear how PDK as well as the Health Ministry can help to ensure that the special needs students are given the best service.
“There might be some special needs children who are not suitable to be in school. In cases like this, PDK can come in and play their roles,” she said.
Touching on her working visit in Miri, she said its main objective was to understand and to hear the obstacles and challenges faced by teachers involved as well as how to help them cope with them.
“After this (visit), we will have discussions among ministries in Putrajaya to see how we can further help OKU. We want to understand obstacles faced by OKUs as well as teachers and schools that cater to them. Of course, infrastructure is one of them along with suitable classes and skilled teachers.
“We also need to know what to do when the special needs child is really not suitable to attend a school or is maybe needed to undergo a transition period before being placed in a classroom,” she said.
Yeoh added that they need to study and understand all the policy’s ‘teething problems’ so that the ministry can improved the programme.
“That is why we have doctors around with us (during this visit) to hear the feedback because these are the doctors who deal with special needs children,” she said.
She added that since the implementation of Zero Reject Policy, many special needs children left PDKs to register in schools.
Meanwhile, Yeoh said that about 15 per cent of Malaysian population are OKU but only about 500,000 has been registered.
“Registered OKUs are only about half a million, that is far from the 15 per cent. This means that in reality, there is still a huge number of unregistered OKU who are not getting the education and assistance they deserve,” she pointed out.
In view of this, she said that her ministry will further boost its ‘Jom Daftar OKU’ to encourage more special needs children to be registered.
Yeoh visited PPKI classes in SMK Luak and SK Jalan Bintang as well as Miri PDK Centre in Lutong during her working trip to Miri.
Also present were Senator Alan Ling, Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon, Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang and Social Welfare Department (JKM) director-general Zulkifli Ismail.