PARENTS with children in private kindergartens in movement-control order (MCO) states are free to decide on sending their children for classes, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said today.

Private kindergartens are still allowed to operate under the MCO, which has been imposed in six states from tomorrow until January 26.

The six states are Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Malacca, Johor and Sabah.

He said he was aware of concerns among parents with children in private kindergartens, and said the MCO to begin tomorrow will not be as restrictive as the one in March last year that saw a complete shutdown of all schools and educational institutions at all levels.

“This MCO will be different than the one in March last year. There will be people who can still work under this MCO so we need to allow private kindergartens in MCO areas to continue operations,” he told a press conference today.

“We acknowledge the concerns parents have and we leave it to them to decide for their children,” he added.

Government-run kindergartens, meanwhile, will follow the public school calendar, whereby they remain closed until January 20.

With the MCO, however, schools will still reopen but through home-based and online learning, except for levels that have major examinations this year – Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia. These students will continue with in-person classes.

Schools in states under conditional MCO and recovery MCO will proceeding with opening on January 20 and with in-person classes with Covid-19 standard operating procedure in place. – January 12, 2021.