CLASSES will be held online for two weeks after the Hari Raya holidays through the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR), said Education Minister Radzi Jidin today.

Schools will close from May 16 to 27 for group A schools (in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) and May 17 to 28 for group B schools (in Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya).

Radzi said the decision was made to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections after the school holidays, scheduled from May 7 to 15 for group A schools and May 8 to 16 for group B schools.

He said after the PdPR period, students will continue their term holidays from May 28 to June 12 for group A schools and May 29 to June 13 for group B schools.

“Last year the schools were already closed during the Aidilfitri festive period, so we don’t know what the post-Hari Raya data will be like.

“We are especially worried about those who will return to the hostels, because there is a possibility of some having contracted the disease from outside, so we are taking this step to control the spread, because, after the festival, students will remain at home for a longer period of time,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

In the meantime, Radzi said students and pupils living in school hostels under the Ministry of Education nationwide would be allowed to return home to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and resume online learning for two weeks after the holidays.

The schedule for the 2021 schooling session previously required students and pupils to return to school for two weeks after the Aidilfitri holidays before going on a term break. – Bernama, April 26, 2021.