More special education tutors needed
Monday, April 9, 2007
BRUNEI Darussalam still needs more special education officers to cater for the educational needs of special people in the country.
Adanan Musin, a special education officer at the Special Education Unit of the Ministry of Education said, "The teaching support we give are for children who are in 'high support need cases' or 'intellectually impaired' where the teachers for these people with special needs are designated in various government primary and secondary schools. "Our teachers for special needs people are mostly posted at primary schools where they support children with different disabilities, such as intellectually impaired, down syndrome and severe slow learners," he added.
He went on to say that all the special education teachers were well-trained, some of whom have undergone courses in special needs education but they still need more to enable them to cater for the whole nation.
He said, "Interests in special needs education needs to be encouraged because other attributes such as caring, commitment and patience towards the needs of the special people can be developed," he said.
The only non-governmental organisation in Brunei Darussalam that looks after special needs children of under six years of age is Kaca, which has been around since 1986.
"We cater to children of all forms of disability, preparing them for school at the same time getting parents involved in their learning process," said Hj Abd Alim Hj Othman, Kaca managing director.
Kaca organises various activities to teach the children social and daily skills such as toileting, dressing and eating.
"Though we do not support them in their educational learning, we do assist in preparing them prior to their entry into a new environment such as a school," he added.
The Pusat Bahagia, an organisation for special needs people under the Department of Community Development of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports has its branches in all four districts.
The manager of the Brunei-Muara Pusat Bahagia, Raimah Mohamed, said that the centre has 11 special education teachers as well as four learning support assistants who teach children activities related to daily living skills. Currently there are 118 individuals registered with the centre. The centre also have an additional 22 teachers from the Ministry of Education, Department of Community Development and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. "Our capability of supporting special needs individuals of the nation is still low due to insufficient number of special needs teachers," said Raimah.
Meanwhile, the Third National Special Needs Olympics came to a close yesterday. Officiating at the closing ceremony was Dato Paduka Jemat Ampal, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports who also presented prizes to the winners.The Brunei Times
Adanan Musin, a special education officer at the Special Education Unit of the Ministry of Education said, "The teaching support we give are for children who are in 'high support need cases' or 'intellectually impaired' where the teachers for these people with special needs are designated in various government primary and secondary schools. "Our teachers for special needs people are mostly posted at primary schools where they support children with different disabilities, such as intellectually impaired, down syndrome and severe slow learners," he added.
He went on to say that all the special education teachers were well-trained, some of whom have undergone courses in special needs education but they still need more to enable them to cater for the whole nation.
He said, "Interests in special needs education needs to be encouraged because other attributes such as caring, commitment and patience towards the needs of the special people can be developed," he said.
The only non-governmental organisation in Brunei Darussalam that looks after special needs children of under six years of age is Kaca, which has been around since 1986.
"We cater to children of all forms of disability, preparing them for school at the same time getting parents involved in their learning process," said Hj Abd Alim Hj Othman, Kaca managing director.
Kaca organises various activities to teach the children social and daily skills such as toileting, dressing and eating.
"Though we do not support them in their educational learning, we do assist in preparing them prior to their entry into a new environment such as a school," he added.
The Pusat Bahagia, an organisation for special needs people under the Department of Community Development of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports has its branches in all four districts.
The manager of the Brunei-Muara Pusat Bahagia, Raimah Mohamed, said that the centre has 11 special education teachers as well as four learning support assistants who teach children activities related to daily living skills. Currently there are 118 individuals registered with the centre. The centre also have an additional 22 teachers from the Ministry of Education, Department of Community Development and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. "Our capability of supporting special needs individuals of the nation is still low due to insufficient number of special needs teachers," said Raimah.
Meanwhile, the Third National Special Needs Olympics came to a close yesterday. Officiating at the closing ceremony was Dato Paduka Jemat Ampal, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports who also presented prizes to the winners.The Brunei Times
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