Seven students to a class for special needs schools

Special needs students will be limited to a maximum of seven to a class when they return to school. However, this number still depends on the space available in a classroom to maintain social distancing.

“The school may use a rotation method if the room cannot accommodate all the special needs students while maintaining social distancing,” said the Education Ministry in its guidelines to manage special needs students released yesterday.

The guidelines apply to all preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, vocational colleges and Form Six colleges, as well as private institutions registered with the ministry.

According to the guidelines, parents are required to fill in a health declaration form for their special needs children and submit it to the school at least three days prior to their return to school.

“The information provided in the form is an indicator to determine the health status of the special needs students and their self-care capabilities,” it said.

The school will then determine if the child is fit to return to school or should continue with home-based learning.

If their child cannot walk to class, parents are allowed to drop their child off inside the school at a designated drop-off point but not leave their vehicle.

Those in preschool can be accompanied by their parent or guardian to the class provided the parent follows all visitor guidelines, including registration.

Temperature checks will be conducted for everyone upon entry and students will be reminded to wash their hands frequently.

All special needs students will be accompanied by the student management assistant to their classrooms.

Visually-impaired students, especially those in the B1 category, need to use a white cane throughout their time in school to avoid frequent touching with the hands.

Category B1 vision impairment means blindness on both sides of the eye less than 3/60 or a field of vision less than 10 degrees from fixation.

The guidelines also state teachers and assistants are required to wear a face mask at all times with exceptions for communicating with certain students, especially the hearing and visually-impaired.

The guidelines state that these measures will be implemented together with the Education Ministry’s school reopening management guidelines, preschool reopening management guidelines and any circulars, letters or instructions issued by the government from time to time.

Special needs schools registered under other government agencies or not registered with the Education Ministry were recommended to follow these guidelines.

The full guidelines can be accessed on the ministry’s website https://www.moe.gov.my/.