THE Education Ministry has come under fire for flip-flopping over whether to reopen school, which had caused parents to spend money on online learning equipment that will now go to waste.

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan today slammed the authority’s indecision in the matter.

Instead of reopening school, Mohamad said the ministry should have looked into strengthening the digital learning system while the country recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The decision to open and close schools in this flip-flop manner should be stopped. It is very inconvenient for students, parents and teachers.

“Most parents have gone to great lengths to purchase digital devices for online learning and virtual learning should continue for the time being,” he said in a statement today.

The former Negri Sembilan Menteri besar noted the government had launched DidikTV on Thursday for the purpose of learning from home.

Yet, yesterday, barely 24 hours later, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that school for primary students will resume on March 1, while secondary students will go back to the classroom on April 4.

He said classes for Standards 1 and 2 will start on March 1, while classes for Standards 3 to 6 will start on March 8.

“We want the teachers and students to get used to the standard operating procedure,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Secondary school classes in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will open on April 1 while for the rest of the country the students will start classes on April 5, he added.

Radzi said vocational colleges will reopen on March 1, while international schools will resume on March 8, adding that private schools will resume on March 1 and secondary schools will start on April 4 and 5.

He said private school classes for Standards 1 and 2 will start on March 1, while classes for Standards 3 to 6 will start on March 8. – February 20, 2021.