By Maszlee Malik
I AM informed of a report made by Malaysiakini dated June 22, whereby a candidate with special needs was denied the opportunity to take courses that he applied for due to his physical disabilities.
The candidate has obtained 9A in his SPM 2019 and applied for the ASASI PINTAR UKM Foundation Program alongside five other foundations in science programs and diploma programs in other public universities.
However, when UPU Online underwent an update, his original application was gone and was replaced with choices of two diploma programs and 20 certificate programs from polytechnics and community colleges that he was eligible to apply for.
I was told that this case is not an isolated issue because I have received a few responses from parents of children with disabilities who have voiced out similar predicaments. The online UPU system that has been updated has set aside only several courses that are eligible for candidates with disabilities, and these so called “disable friendly” courses are very limited in number.
These principles of segregation and exclusion is an injustice to the candidates with disabilities and has deviated very far from the previous principle of inclusion in which they were given a special route for university admissions. They should be given the same opportunities as any other candidates without disability, and their chances of obtaining higher education should not be limited and obstructed.
As a result, from the previous special route policy that was applied based on the principle of inclusivity, as many as 466 candidates with disability have been successfully offered a place of study at a public university for the 2019/2020 academic admission session.
However, as of today, the admissions of candidates with disabilities into universities is not only are their admission no longer simplified, but their paths have also been blocked.
In fact, Malaysia has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in the year 2008 and the rights of those with disabilities to receive education is emphasized greatly in Article 24 of the said document.
Conceptually, our country has adopted the policy of inclusivity of the people with disabilities in line with the National Education Policy by providing the Special Education Program (PPK), Special Education Integration Program (PPKI) and the Inclusive Education Program (PPI) as enshrined in the Education Act (1996). This is continued with the implementation of the Zero Reject Policy in 2019 at the school level.
At the higher education level, almost all fields of study is open to be applied by candidates with disabilities in all universities, and now we find many disabled graduates in various fields including professional fields and they are now working as engineers, architects, lawyers and others that are as successful.
The Government’s commitment in empowering inclusive education continued with the launch of the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Policy of Inclusion in Institutes of Higher Learning on Sept 5, 2019, whereby all universities are required to provide a Strategic Short-Term Plan and a Long-Term Plan to fulfil the needs of disabled students in Institutes of Higher Learning, especially public institutions.
I would like to urge the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and all IPTA, Public Institutes of Higher Learning, Polytechnics and Community Colleges under the MOHE administration to return to the ‘Inclusive Policy of the Disabled in Institutes of Higher Learning (IPT)’ which has been launched by the Ministry of Education in 2019 under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Government administration as promised by the Minister of Higher Education during the Parliament session on August 4, 2020.
I sincerely hope that the inclusive education system that was practiced before is continued in the true sense so that our country will not be seen as a country that outcasts those who are disabled, or on an extreme end, a country that practices apartheid policy in providing education for the disabled. – June 24, 2021
Maszlee Malik is the former Education Minister, MP of of Simpang Renggam and the chairman of the Pakatan Harapan Education Committee.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
