This comes after FMT reported a story about six-year-old Jonah Michio Tan, who is fighting for the right to an education.

Jonah suffers from skeletal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that affects his bones and joints and hinders his growth and development.

Because of that, Jonah, who turned seven this year and was supposed to be in Standard One, is lagging behind in his studies. His mother, Miyumi, still cannot find a suitable school.

Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) said while the education ministry claimed that no one was left behind in education, that was not always the case.

“The education ministry’s stance is that special education is not cost-effective,” PAGE president Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim told FMT.

She said while it was undeniable that there were special education programmes established by the government, it was not enough to cater to these groups.

Further, some of these programmes were not suitable for some disabled students.

In Jonah’s case, Miyumi said she had been in touch with government schools that offered special education programmes.

However, she had come to the conclusion that Jonah was not fit to join the classes as the programmes were not tailored to her son’s conditions.

“There are no suitable schools that could manage Jonah, and even if there is any, chances are I could not afford it,” she said.

She hoped to meet other parents with children who have the same conditions.

“I do not have much experience in handling this situation. I hope to meet other parents to guide me,” she said.

Azimah also believed that funding was the root cause of this issue.

“We believe that the government does not deliberately ignore such students. There is just no funding,” she said.

However, she said the government should view these groups differently. “These students could become an asset to the government if they receive equal education opportunities rather than perceived as a burden to society.”

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation (MCR) said parents of disabled children should focus on the skills acquisition rather than academic qualifications.

“Develop skills instead, there’s no need to follow the mainstream education system,” MCR president Khatijah Suleiman said.

She urged the government to establish more skills-based education centres such as community colleges and vocational schools.

“More centres need to be established, especially in rural areas,” she said, adding that NGOs should also provide active support for this initiative.