Falling through the cracks

Learning loss among special needs students made worse by pandemic

CHILDREN with learning difficulties have a mountain to surmount as they navigate their schooling years.

Their symptoms are often dismissed as them being unfocused or lazy, and while the education system has remedial programmes in place to support these students, some are flawed and could prove to be counterproductive.Three years ago, the Education Ministry implemented a compulsory policy to ensure that all children in the country, including those with special needs and undocumented children, have access to education.

But facilitating equal access to education has, for the most part, been a contentious issue and the Covid-19 pandemic has only made things worse for vulnerable students and those from low-income families.For students with learning difficulties in particular, a recent study by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) revealed that among the contributing factors to the unequal distribution of access to education and services includes the way remedial programmes are implemented.

Speech and language therapist Sharmini Xavier, who wrote the paper titled “Falling Through the Cracks: Identifying Children with Learning Difficulties in Malaysian Schools”, said other factors are the lack of teacher competencies, inconsistencies in the implementation of remedial programmes, namely, special rehabilitation programmes and the Literacy and Numeracy Screening (Linus), inconsistencies in the referral process to healthcare professionals, and the lack of a multidisciplinary assessment and diagnosis approach.

“Children with learning difficulties in mainstream schools have needs that are often overlooked.

“They have no apparent or diagnosed developmental disorders but struggle with the basics of reading, writing and oral communication,” she told StarEdu.

The paper, which highlights the needs of this group of children, was published in September last year.Sharmini hopes her work is successful in raising awareness of the needs of children in mainstream schools who struggle with learning; the gaps in identification, assessment and support for children with learning needs; and the need to provide greater training for professionals, and consistent and widespread implementation of learning support throughout the school and hospital systems.The development and implementation of effective remedial programmes for special needs children are a challenge but if left unaddressed, especially in the wake of the pandemic, it will be even harder to help our most vulnerable population get back on track. — By SANDHYA MENON