KUCHING: A total of 59 SeDidik teachers have gained certification to implement early intervention via digital platforms among preschool children.
The Training of Trainers (TOT) certificates were awarded by TOY8.
Women, Early Childhood and Community Well-being Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said training teachers is crucial to ensure the sustainability of the initiative in the long term.
“Therefore, it is important to provide training so that these skills can be transferred to our SeDidik teachers.
“When our teachers possess these skills, they can in turn train other educators, ensuring that the programme does not stop at this stage alone.
“We do not want this effort to become a one-off initiative,” she said at the TOY8 Training of Trainers (TOT) Certificate Presentation Ceremony here Wednesday (Jan 21).
In this regard, Fatimah explained that the training offers various benefits to teachers, particularly in terms of digitalisation.
“When teachers undergo this training, they simultaneously learn Information Technology (IT) skills, including how to conduct education, screening and intervention through digital platforms,” she said.
Commenting on the TOY8 programme, Fatimah explained that it carries out digital screening and intervention for both typically developing children and those with special needs to enable them to enter mainstream schools.
For the 2023 to 2024 period (first cohort), the programme conducted interventions for 20 children, with 12 children (60 per cent) successfully placed into mainstream education.
“Three children (15 per cent) remained in kindergarten as they were not yet of age to enter mainstream classes, while four children (20 per cent) transferred to other kindergartens. Additionally, one child (five per cent) could not be traced due to loss of contact,” she explained.
Meanwhile, for the 2024 to 2025 period (second cohort), 37 children underwent TOY8 intervention, with 26 of them remaining in kindergarten as they were still six years old, while 11 children had transferred.
