PANGKALPINANG -- To support inclusive education for children with special needs, PT Timah held a Parent and Teacher Collaboration Workshop in Educating Children with Special Needs which was held at Graha Timah Pangkalpinang, Saturday-Sunday (1-2/6/2024).
Approximately more than one hundred teachers and parents of children with special needs attended the workshop which presented guest speakers, Consultant at Rumah Indira Human Potential Development, Iin Indriyani S.Si, MM and Parents of Children with Special Needs, Drs Rahmadi Iwan.
The first day of the workshop was also attended by the Head of the CSR Division of PT Timah Rahmat Taufik, Representatives from the Social Service of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province and the Acting Head of the Special Development Division of the Bangka Belitung Province Education Service Tomi.
On the first day, the workshop with the theme "Curriculum for Students with Special Needs and Tips for Educating Special Children to Become Meaningful People" was attended by educators and principals of schools for children with special needs.
Acting Head of the Special Development Division of the Bangka Belitung Province Education Service, Tomi, said that his party appreciates PT Timah for holding this event, considering that activities like this are still rarely carried out, especially in relation to the curriculum for children with special needs.
"We are mandated by law to provide inclusive schools, where public schools can accept children with special needs. But in implementation there are obstacles," he said.
He explained that the obstacles faced include budget, facilities and infrastructure, teachers who are competent to teach children with special needs and the curriculum because it is different from general schools.
"We from the education department thank PT Timah for being brave, able and able to organize something like this, we hope this can be implemented sustainably," he said.
According to him, PT Timah is very committed to supporting the education sector in Bangka Belitung, one of which is through the scholarship class program at SMAN 1 Pemali which has been running since 2000 until now.
Meanwhile, the Principal of the Pangkalpinang State SLB School, Sahara, said that activities like this are very important and beneficial for them. He even invited teachers and educational staff to take part in this activity.
"It's very useful, because dealing with children with special needs is different from children in general. So we invite teachers to take advantage of this opportunity to learn together so that their insight increases and can later be implemented in educating children," She said.
Similarly, as stated by the Principal of the Bangka Belitung Nature School, Puji Lestari, said that in their school there are around 15 children with special needs. So with this training they can broaden their insight in educating children.
"This activity is very important for those of us who work with children with special needs, even though we are often given in-house training. But the material presented is very useful so we can gain insight and new methods," She said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Corporate Communications at PT Timah Anggi Siahaan hopes that with insight into the curriculum for students with special needs, teaching staff will be able to deliver children with special needs more meaningfully.
"Hopefully this will become a support system for our children who have special needs. We hope this can help them to develop. This activity aims to enrich our insight, through this seminar we hope to provide an educational and innovative platform that we can apply in our lives every day," he said. (*)
