KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 161,891 students with special educational needs are currently enrolled in institutions under the Education Ministry institutions, says Wong Kah Woh.
The Deputy Education Minister said that 141,545 of those students are categorised as having learning disabilities with autism affecting the most number of students at 53,169, as of May 31 this year.
He said this was followed by intellectual disabilities at 39,254 students and specific learning disabilities at 24,148 students
The remaining categories comprised 13,337 students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 4,501 with Down syndrome, 3,741 with global developmental delay and 3,395 classified under other conditions.
He noted that 7,406 schools nationwide currently provide special education services for such students through special education schools, the Special Education Integration Programme (PPKI) and the Inclusive Education Programme (PPI).
“To accommodate the growing enrolment of students with special educational needs, the Ministry is now focused on developing physical infrastructure and improving the welfare of these students.
“On this, we have approved the construction of eight new Special Education Schools, alongside 80 new or additional PPKI building projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK 12).
“Under Budget 2026, the Ministry has also received approval for 38 additional special education building projects, which are currently in the planning stage,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during Minister's Question Time on Thursday (July 9).
Wong added that the ministry will utilise the Industrialised Building System (IBS) to accelerate construction of an additional 241 PPKI classrooms at 46 schools.
These are expected to be completed in 2026 and become operational by 2027.
He also revealed that 95.8% of special education teaching posts, or 21,314 out of 22,254 positions, had been filled nationwide, as of July 9 this year.
Wong was responding to Tan Kok Wai (PH-Cheras) on number of students registered with learning disabilities nationwide and the current state of our national special education system.
