PART 1 THE COMMISSION’S REPORT ON THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES – FOCUSING ON PRIMARY EDUCATION are required to participate in their child’s education by providing input in the planning and development of the child’s Individualised Education Plan (IEP). Under IDEA, parents are expected to ensure continuity of lessons at home; to chart their child’s progress (or regress) and to share this with the teachers. 97. In Malaysia, parental involvement and participation in the child’s learning process depends heavily on the parents themselves. Special education teachers interviewed by the Commission during its school visits highlighted that positive progress could be seen in children whose parents were involved and enthusiastic about their child’s education. Conversely, children, whose parents do not communicate and are not involved with schools’ activities, show little progress, and some even regress especially after long school breaks. 3.4.3 Special Education Teachers and Teachers’ Aides (a) Special Education Teachers 98. Teachers play an important role in ensuring the success of any education system. Special education teachers play an even more important role in ensuring that an effective teaching and learning process is in place and adjusted to the needs of each special needs student. Recognising this, the Government has allocated a special allowance of RM250 for all special education teachers. TABLE 5: SEIP TEACHERS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION42 42 Year No. of teachers in SEIP 2010 6,251 2011 6530 2012 6,663 2013 6,934 Source: Buku Data Pendidikan Khas 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Ministry of Education Malaysia. 31