IT IS good to know that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is planning to revamp the primary education system and move away from rote learning.

However, the changes seem to be silent on support for special-needs children in mainstream schools.

Over the last couple of years, I have been excited to see the Government acknowledge this group of children, who need greater support and nurturing as they go through the education system.

Giving kids more exposure to special-needs children in mainstream schools would also help develop a more caring society in the long run.

More teachers in mainstream schools are now increasingly aware of the needs of these children, and are also more accommodating towards them.

Some schools which do not have special-needs officers (SNOs) have also been brave enough to enrol special-needs children.

As a mother of a special-needs child who attends a mainstream school, I hope to see MOE give its support to such schools by deploying SNOs to all schools as soon as possible.

I hope MOE will give additional support to this group of children, particularly during this recession when many parents will be tightening their belts and finding it hard to afford the care available outside the school system, which is expensive.

Mrs V. Srinivasan

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