KINDERGARTENS are considering moving their lessons online given the spread of the Omicron variant, owners said.

They said the risk was rising as the virus was spreading among children, especially since children under five haven’t been vaccinated yet.

Owners said they must consult with parents before the new school year about whether all lessons will be held online.

Woon Pek Poon, chairman of the Kedah and Perlis Kindergarten Teachers Association, said owners are keeping a close watch on the latest developments.

“We will prepare a Google Sheet survey to ask parents whether they will send their children back when school starts or if they prefer online classes,” Woon told The Malaysian Insight.

“Almost all confirmed cases are asymptomatic now, so everyone is worried.

“Although children over five are being vaccinated now, parents are still hesitant of the side effects of the vaccine. For younger children, they can’t take the vaccine even if they wanted.”

The national immunisation programme for children started on February 3 to inoculate children ages 5-12.

As of February 28, almost 880,000 children have received their first dose as part of the programme.

While online classes are remarkably different than physical lessons, they may have to opt for it as a last resort, Woon said.

“The teachers don’t have enough time to conduct online lessons but due to the worsening epidemic and for the safety of the children, we will consider it.”

The new school term will begin on March 21. However, kindergartens may not take the three-week school holiday, instead take a shorter break to help six-year-olds transition to primary school.

Flexible arrangements

Miri Kindergarten Teachers Association president Sim Siew Fang said it would look at the attendance rate once school starts before making any decisions.

“If the attendance rate is less than 50%, we will run hybrid classes. If it is above 95%, all physical lessons will be cancelled and we will move online.”

So far, there has been no request from parents for online lessons, so the association will continue with the hybrid method.

Parents are not asking for online lessons probably because they are confident with the effectiveness of the vaccine, Sim said.

“Once they have all been vaccinated, we can be at ease.”

Sally Ng, president of the Malaysian Kindergarten Teachers Association said that they would have to adopt if there is a demand for online lessons.

“We cannot just look at the national data by the regional situation.”

In Penang, worried parents have requested for online lessons, but at the same time, some want physical lessons to continue, Ng said.

“There are many dual income families where both parents have to work so they need to send their children to school, otherwise there is no one to look after them.

“We have to be flexible with the arrangements.”

In order to keep the children safe, the kindergartens adhere to strict standard operating procedures, she said.

Once there is a confirmed case, measures are taken to immediately stop the infection from spreading, she added. – March 4, 2022.