PART 1 THE COMMISSION’S REPORT ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES – FOCUSING ON PRIMARY EDUCATION CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION 1. Malaysia is progressing towards achieving universal primary education and as a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Malaysia is obliged to ensure that children with disabilities are given equal right to education. In addition, in 1994, Malaysia had also adopted the UNESCO Salamanca Statement which calls on Governments to uphold inclusive education for children with disabilities. 2. The Government’s commitment to ensure access to education for children with disabilities is evident through the introduction of the following special education programmes that are managed by the Ministry of Education:1 • • • Special Education Schools: dedicated schools for children with vision and hearing disabilities. They are now being been extended to intellectuallychallenged children at both primary and secondary school levels. Special Education Integrated Programme: special education classes within mainstream schools. Inclusive Education programme: fully cognitive students who participate in mainstream classes. 3. The Government’s commitment in ensuring access to education for all children including those with disabilities is explicitly translated in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, which aims to achieve 75% enrolment of students with special needs in inclusive programmes by 2025. 4. Alongside these formal special education programmes, the Community -based Rehabilitation Centres (CBR) supported by the Department of Social Welfare under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development also provides rehabilitation and early learning programmes for children with learning disabilities (CWLD), particularly those with severe disabilities. 5. In 2013, the Commission decided to conduct a study on the issue of right to primary education for children with learning disabilities (CWLD). There were two main reasons for the focus on this issue. Firstly, it was observed that unlike access to primary education for the visually- and hearing- impaired children, it appears that not much information on education for children with learning disabilities was readily available, much less its accessibility. Secondly, during the Commission’s awareness programmes on persons with 1 Regulation 3, Education (Special Education) Regulations 2013. 3