KENINGAU: 11 June 2026 – Two special needs students from Keningau Vocational College (KV Keningau), Faye Chin Ka Feiy and Clleriscen Welvson, have won a silver medal at the SOCIOINNOVATION 2026 social project competition, which was held online.
Both students, who are from the Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI), led a project called ‘Sign & Tell’ in collaboration with several mainstream vocational students. The project aims to promote the use of sign language among students who can hear and speak verbally, with the goal of bridging the communication gap with their hearing-impaired peers.
The director of KV Keningau, Lumang anak Lang, described the achievement as evidence of the commitment of special needs students to helping create an inclusive learning environment.
He said the college provides continuous support for special needs students and the PPKI department, which remains active in various academic and co-curricular activities.
The ‘Sign & Tell’ project was first introduced in 2025 through a collaboration between PPKI students and mainstream vocational students. Under the initiative, hearing-impaired students act as mentors in a series of sign language classes, in addition to producing special learning materials to help participants master the communication skill.
The effort went on to secure second place in last year’s national Social Project Challenge, organised by myHarapan and sponsored by the Telekom Malaysia Foundation – a result which also enabled the project to receive a grant of RM2,800.
In the same year, ‘Sign & Tell’ also received international recognition, winning the World Changer Award from SENIA, a global special education association.
For 2026, Faye Chin Ka Feiy and Clleriscen Welvson have taken over as project leaders, assisted by several mainstream vocational students: Rosselina Senora Ungkak, Daffeny Jeanne Domica, Zizie Umairah Paizal and Rossaliah Suhaili @ Lasius.
The Integrated Special Education Programme is one of the options offered at KV Keningau to students in Forms Four and Five who have learning difficulties, neurodiversity or hearing impairments. Through the ‘Sign & Tell’ project, efforts to strengthen communication and social links between special needs students and mainstream students continue to be enhanced in order to create a more inclusive campus community.
