Batulicin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Solution Islamic Elementary School (SDI-eS), a nature school in Serongga Village, Kelumpang Hilir Sub-district, Kotabaru District, South Kalimantan Province, declared itself ready to be a pilot for handling children with special needs (ABK).
The Principal of SDI-eS Serongga Iskandar here on Sunday said the nature school, which is also the first inclusive school in Kotabaru, has just been inaugurated by Regent H.Sayed Jafar on February 26, 2022.
"Although this school is new, teachers here are ready to teach the students to tahfiz (memorizing Al-Qur,an), to become independent with international insight, and our school ready to become pilot project in Kalimantan," said Iskandar.
The advantage of this school is there is no selective acceptance of prospective students. Whatever the background and condition, as long as the candidate has the intention to learn, he will definitely be accepted.
In fact, the management launched a flaghip program through a collaboration with Lazizmu (Muhammadiyah's philanthropic unit) by providing free fees for orphans and poor children until they graduate.
SD I-eS Serongga also applies international-based education by adding foreign language curriculum, namely Arabic, English, Japanese, and Mandarin.
"Through the inclusive-based nature school, we want to break community's paradigm that underestimate children with special needs. They are golden children who have a very good potential compared to normal people," he said.
Iskandar gave an example, one of the students with special needs, Adhya Muhaimina (9). At the beginning he could not do anything, even to go school he had to be carried, because he had difficulties to walk due to physical limitation and motoric problems.
"Within five months after undergoing therapy, he is able to walk, to write, to read, and even memorizing Al-Quran verses up to one juz," Iskandar expounded.
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Meanwhile, Head of Kotabaru Education Office Selamat Riyadi said that the government will continue to monitor the developments and would support the school so that learning and teaching process would continue.
"Inclusive elementary school have indeed become the authority of the district gpvernment, and the Education Office is ready to help what the school needs according to the available budget," he said.
To support the inclusive school, last year the local government implemented a program to improve the quality of educators by sending ten teachers to take inclusive education in Banjarmasin.
"It is expected that the ten teachers will pass on their knowledge to other teachers so they can apply the inclusive education in other schools with the aim that children with special needs can be accepted by schools anywhere," he said.
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