Chapter 1 - Report of the Education and Public Relations Group The Commission was informed that children studying in private SAR had to pay the full public examination fee, even though the Government has abolished these fees in schools under the purview of the MOE. The Commission was also informed that the Textbook Department only provides book aid to schools registered with the MOE and State Islamic Religous Department. Students in other types of religious schools have to buy textbooks although the Government has a policy on free textbooks. These issues beset most the SAR run by independent entities such as the State Islamic Religous Department, Islamic Development Department of Malaysia, State Religious Affairs Council, NGOs, private companies and individuals. It is acknowledged that while some schools which are registered with the MOE or state government do receive grants, others do not. Some are still in the process of registration. The Commission is of the view that assistance given to schools under the purview of the MOE must be extended to the SAR, regardless of their status. Due consideration and attention must be given to the SAR to enable students to succeed in education and life. (e) Special Education Schools (SES) and Special Education Integration Programme (SEIP) The Commission organised series of workshops (Table 1) on Human Rights for Special Education Teachers who teaches SES (Vision and Hearing Inpairment) and SEIP (Learning Disabilities) based on region in Peninsular Malaysia. The workshops provided them with information on children’s rights and identified related educational needs. Table 1: Human Rights Workshops for SES/SEIP Teachers, 2013 NO. ZONE 1. North 2. East STATES DATE Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak 26-28 June Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang 29-31 October Participants highlighted issues affecting the education of children: (i) Standard of questions The standard set for children with special needs is the same as that for mainstream students. ‘Modification’ of the question paper for hearing impaired students or in a textbook does not mean lowering the level of difficulty, but only inclusion of the ‘hand code’. Furthermore, the addition of the hand code in the textbook is only available for certain subjects, which includes Bahasa Melayu, Mathematics and Science. (ii) Future of special needs students who excel in sports There is no special sports school for these students. The Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar Sports Schools do not have the required facilities for such students. 24