PART 1 THE COMMISSION’S REPORT ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES – FOCUSING ON PRIMARY EDUCATION 3.5 INVESTMENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION 109. The CRC General Comment No. 9 on Rights of Children with Disabilities48 clearly requires the Government to ensure that adequate financial allocation is provided to SEIP or/and other programmes aimed at including children with disabilities, including CWLD, into mainstream education. This includes financial resources, inter alia, to cover all their needs, including training programmes for teachers, physiotherapists and policymakers; education campaigns; financial support for families; educational assistive devices; and to renovate schools to render them physically accessible to children with disabilities.49 3.5.1 Investment in Teaching and Learning Programme 110. In Malaysia, the annual financial allocation for schools is dependent upon the number of enrolled students. It is noted that the Government has recognised the special and different teaching and learning needs of children with disabilities, including CWLD, and this is reflected in the amount of per capita grant (PCG) allocated for each CWLD. The PCG amounts for subjects have been fixed by the Ministry of Education and the actual PCG allocation depends largely on the total number of students in each school. TABLE 8: APPROXIMATE PCG ALLOCATION FOR STUDENTS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA50 Type of Student PCG per student (RM) Mainstream student 86 CWLD 410 111. The PCG allocation is strictly to be utilised to strengthen the teaching and learning process. At almost all its visits, the Commission took cognisant that PCG allocations for CWLD were managed by an assigned coordinator, if not the headmaster/principal himself and would be spent on necessary teaching activities and materials. Nevertheless, the Commission noted the common grouses amongst special education teachers centred on the inadequacy of teaching materials due to insufficient financial resources. It was also highlighted that teaching materials for CWLD cost more and although the PCG allocation for each CWLD is higher compared to the mainstream student, the total allocation is however relatively small and therefore inadequate to meet the needed expenses. The Commission was encouraged by steps taken by some committed special education teachers Para 20 of the General Comment No. 9 by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the Rights of Children with Disabilities. Available at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/ Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fGC%2f9&Lang=en 49 Ibid. 50 Surat Pekeliling Kewangan Bil. 8 Tahun 2012, Garis Panduan Pengurusan Kewangan, Peruntukan Bantuan Persekolahan ke Sekolah Berdasarkan Per Kapita dan Enrolmen Murid. 48 35