SCHOOLS and teachers should prepare to make the switch to online classes at any time, as the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic remains uncertain, said school heads and representatives of teachers’ unions.

Although a second round of conditional movement-control order (CMCO) is in place only for Sabah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, schools in Johor are reporting a drop in attendance, while in Penang, parents are concerned about an outbreak in the Penang remand jail.

The current third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen cases in almost all states after the Sabah elections on September 26.

Chua Lay Kah, acting president of the National Principals’ Union and chairman of the union’s Johor branch, said signs of panic among parents were visible since the government announcement of the CMCO for Sabah and the Klang Valley on Monday.

Attendance at schools around the state dropped from around 97% to 93%, he said.

“Parents might be fearful of the fresh outbreak, so they are keeping children at home to stay safe.”

In Penang, concerns are fuelled by the Covid-19 outbreak at the state’s remand prison and prison staff quarters in the northeast district, which has been declared a red zone.

The prison and quarters are now under an enhanced MCO (EMCO) since Thursday.

The Penang branch chief of the National Union of Heads of Schools, Chew Eng Hock, said parents should not worry as the virus outbreak at the remand prison was contained to that area.

He has told parents that there is little chance of exposure of the virus to people outside the EMCO area and urged parents to continue sending their children to school.

“In Penang, it is common to find both parents working. Parents are fretting over finding childcare because both of them have to work.

“There are some parents who take their children along to their workplace but this is not a good idea.

“Sending them to school is still better and relatively safe, as the standard operating procedure is in place,” said Chew, who is also principal of SJK(C) Min Sin.

A pupil at the school tested positive for Covid-19 last month and attendance plummeted, even though precautions, such as disinfection and cleaning, were done, said Chew.

“The pupil did not expose the school to infection but panic-stricken parents still took no chances and kept their children away.

“We even disinfected the school four times just to reassure parents that the school is safe and also did contact tracing for those who came into contact with the infected pupil. The test results for these traced contacts were all negative.”

Chew said there are around 90 small Chinese vernacular schools in the state.

Although SJK(C) Min Sin’s pupils have returned for classes, he said teachers should be prepared to switch from the physical classroom to online classes at a moment’s notice.

“The pandemic is well into its eighth month and the end is nowhere in sight.

“The outbreak has changed the way schools are managed and how children are taught. Although online classes are not favoured by teachers, to ensure the safety of the pupils, schools and teachers should always be prepared for the switch.”

In Johor, Chua, who is the principal of SJK(C) Kuo Kuang 2 in Skudai, said his school is preparing to shift to online learning at a moment’s notice if ever the school is ordered shut due to Covid-19 infections.

“We are well prepared to go online at any time.”

All pupils have been given passwords and necessary information to log in online to their virtual classrooms.

“Videos have also been prepared and sent to parents so they can teach their children how to use them at home.” – October 17, 2020.