KUCHING: The One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (OSEIC) Sarawak will be expanded throughout the state in a significant effort to support children with special needs.
Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said that this expansion is a crucial step in ensuring that children with developmental challenges receive timely support to maximise their potential.
“This year, we celebrate the graduation of 133 children from OSEIC, including 125 from Kuching and eight from Dalat.
“Of these, 25 will transition into mainstream education, 93 will enter the Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI), and 15 will join the Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas (SKPK),” she said during the OSEIC Sarawak Graduation Ceremony 2025 at Waterfront Hotel here on Friday.
Fatimah highlighted that since its inception in 2020, OSEIC has provided early intervention services to 840 children, with 297 successfully graduating, while 543 children are currently participating in intervention programmes at OSEIC.
“We are very fortunate that the Sarawak government is highly committed to and consistently supports the ministry’s efforts in developing structured and systematic early intervention programmes for children with special needs.
“The government recognises that such programmes can be cost-saving in the long run, as early intervention helps identify developmental disabilities in children, allowing necessary support and services to be provided before they enter school.
“These initiatives also increase the enrolment of children with special needs in mainstream and inclusive education, thereby reducing the number of children requiring special education,” she explained.
Fatimah also introduced the TOY8 digital screening programme, launched in 2024, as a solution to reduce the long waiting list at OSEIC Sarawak.
“While OSEIC was initially designed to accommodate 100 children, the rising demand has outgrown the existing facilities, leading to extended wait times.
“With the TOY8 digital screening programme, we believe we can address this issue. The pilot project at SeDidik has yielded encouraging results, and I am confident this approach will help us manage the waiting list more effectively,” she said.
The TOY8 programme offers an innovative, play-based digital assessment of children’s language, cognitive, motor, and social development, while also providing targeted intervention support.
By utilising artificial intelligence (AI), the screening can help identify children with conditions such as autism, global developmental delay, and speech delay at an earlier stage, allowing for timely and effective intervention.
