SCHOOLS should be allowed to decide when to resume physical classes instead of a blanket decision by the Education Ministry for all schools to reopen at the same time, given that Covid-19 infections are still high, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) education committee said.

The committee’s members, which include former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik and his deputy Teo Nie Ching, said they were surprised by the ministry’s decision to reopen schools next month since daily cases are still high enough to be causing concern among parents and teachers. 

“We want to urge the ministry to be more careful because many parents and teachers are wondering what is the main reason for them to go back to school during the pandemic, when infections have not completely receded and there are still states and areas categorised as red zones,” they said in a statement today.  

Two other PH lawmakers who signed the statement were Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Tampin MP Dr Hasan Baharom.

Although daily Covid-19 infections are on a slow decline, they still number in the high 2,000s in the past week. 

Yesterday, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that school for primary pupils 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. The same dates apply for private primary schools. 

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.  

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.

The PH education committee said the ministry should give autonomy to schools to decide on reopening.

“The school management, which includes the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and board of directors (if any), can jointly decide whether to open or close the school based on the severity of the pandemic in their location.

“The ministry should not make a blanket decision when pandemic is still plaguing the country.”

They also said teachers and school staff should also be given priority in the national vaccination programme as they are also front-liners.

They also suggested that when schools reopen, teachers are allowed to focus on teaching and that all other administrative tasks not be made priorities at this point in time.

“The government must have comprehensive plans for all scenarios involved, so that parents, students, teachers and everyone affected can undertake thorough preparation measures,” they added. – February 20, 2021.