There are currently no schools for the deaf and hearing impaired in Malaysia and there are growing calls by parents and guardians of the deaf, NGOs and concerned individuals to have schools for them in every state.

At present, deaf students have to travel to Penang from their home states to sit for the SPM examinations and many of these students and their parents and teachers are lamenting the suffering and hardship they have to endure.

There are a total of 35 special education schools in the country, of which six are special education secondary schools and 29 special education primary schools while the Social Welfare Department’s register has 55,000 deaf people.

Deaf SPM students who go to Penang Federation Special Education Secondary Schools for their examinations are provided with dormitories and teachers specialised in sign language so they have no communication issues.

In 2018, the Sabah Society for the Deaf appealed to the Education Ministry to establish Form 4 and 5 classes for deaf students in the state as there are only two schools for deaf students. But their appeals fell on deaf ears.

On another note, however, a special education data book by the Education Ministry last year revealed that 3,173 deaf students required special education and this includes students from pre school to secondary schools.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE