MELAKA: A special course for kindergarten (tabika) and nursery (taska) teachers of the Community Development Department (Kemas) is being proposed from next year to help them identify special needs children who require special attention.
State rural development, agriculture and food security committee chairman Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said this effort was seen as important as an early detection measure since there were still parents who only realise their children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when they enter primary school.
“It must be made clear that early detection is not for the purpose of segregating them, but we want to be able to provide them with special treatment and ensure they receive the best education so that their potential and talents can be fine-tuned – and also so that they will be able to manage themselves in their daily life.
“Sometimes, parents can overlook (these signs) at home, but in nurseries and kindergartens, it is these teachers who can give exposure to and educate these children,” he told reporters after officiating at the state-level ‘Hari Potensi Tabika dan Taska Kemas 2023’ event in Ayer Keroh here yesterday.
Kemas director-general Datuk Ahmad Kamal Idris Mohd Nawawi and Kemas early childhood education director Anisah Saidin also attended the event, Bernama reported.
In his speech, Dr Muhamad Akmal advised parents not to be in denial if they find out that their children are different from others, but to be brave in finding solutions so as to ensure their children receive proper education and treatment.
He also said he and his wife had raised their autistic eldest child, who is now nine years old, adding that he was grateful for the exposure and early childhood education as his son is now independent and studies in a mainstream class with other children.
“With early education, we can find out these children’s talents and potential. Perhaps not in studies, but they have other talents that can be honed,” he added.
“So, we should never feel that our children are less than others because all children have gifts and advantages that need to be unearthed.”
Meanwhile, Anisah said Kemas is always improving quality and standards, especially in the field of early childhood education, and among the new programmes introduced this year was the Tabika Pra Tahfiz Kemas programme in collaboration with Yayasan Pahang.
She said the programme is an added value for the Islamic Education Appreciation Module and its main goal is to give special emphasis to two aspects – the learning of worship and Quranic studies.
She added that in Melaka, there are three kindergartens involved in the Pra Tahfiz pilot project.
