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Besides preparing people for the world of work, technical and vocational education (TVE) is expected to function as a 'social re-engineering' instrument. It is seen as a 'panacea' for the growing marginalisation of young people and adults in the industrialised as well as the developing countries especially the individuals with special needs. The recent move by the Malaysian Ministry of Education to provide tertiary technical education for special needs learners is timely. Previously, the focus has been on primary and secondary education and the access to tertiary level of TVE for special needs learners is very limited. Since the announcement by the Ministry of Education in 2001, several existing and new polytechnics are designed to take these students. This move is in line with the initiatives to produce high quality human resources in order to ensure Malaysia's economic competitiveness. This paper reports the findings from a study which examined the challenges of providing TVE for the special needs population in higher education. Questionnaires, interviews and observation methods are used to gather insights and views on special needs learners' access to technical education in a polytechnic in Malaysia. The focus of the study is on the curriculum, the teaching and learning process, resources and facilities, and equity and accessibility issues. Views of special needs students, lecturers of special needs and technical and vocational lectures teaching special needs students are gathered and qualitatively analysed according to the emerging themes.