THERE is no need to close schools for two weeks after the Hari Raya holidays, said Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE), adding that a few days would suffice.

PAGE chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said there is no guarantee that children will stay home during that two-week period, adding that the closure can be reduced to days.

She was referring to Education Minister Radzi Jidin’s announcement yesterday that school sessions will be held online for two weeks after the Hari Raya holidays through the home-based teaching and learning method (PdPR).

The students will then continue their two weeks of school holidays after that.

“We have had many long holidays and days off. Why do we need another two weeks? We are far behind our schedule,” she said.

“Furthermore, what is the guarantee that the students will stay home for the whole two weeks? The more we prolong the school holidays, the bigger the risk (of students exposed to the virus).”

Home-base teaching will be 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).

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. This is to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections after the school holidays.

Noor Azimah suggested Putrajaya cut the long holidays, but said the government would not want to anger teachers.

“Teachers are their vote bank; the government would not want to annoy them by cutting the holidays,” she said.

“If they do that, the teachers will be angry and probably they will lose their votes. They would not want that to happen, especially in times like these.”

Noor Azimah said school closure should only take place when the need arises.

“As long as there are teachers to run the schools, they should remain open.

“Let parents decide if they want to send their children to school,” she said, adding that parents must be reminded to limit their movements outside the home to prevent bringing infections to school.

“Keep children in school as too much learning has been lost. Adhere strictly to school standard operating procedure (SOP).”

Close schools before it is too late

However, the National Parent-Teacher Associations Consultative Council president Associate Professor Mohamad Ali Hasan said the government must act fast in the face of increasing Covid-19 educational institution clusters.

He said it should come up with a clear directive on school closures.

“Standard operating procedures in schools are in place but SOP outside schools are not. People are going to bazaars and malls, and they are exposed to the virus,” he said.

“So, when children go to school, there are higher chances that they can contract the virus from their friends.

“I am worried if we wait after Raya to close the schools, it might be too late. Because people, including children, are going out.”

Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin said the ministry needs to be very strict with the headmasters and teachers in following the SOP to gain the confidence of parents.

However, he said he did not object to the closing of schools.

“Parents are not confident with teachers. They said the teachers and headmasters do not follow proper SOP while in school,” he said.

“The ministry needs to set the record straight. Parents are risking their children by sending them to school. At least build some confidence while they are in school.

“I have no problem if they decide to close the schools. Just make sure the SOP are followed when they are reopened so that we don’t open and close the schools frequently.”

Covid-19 clusters involving education centres, including schools, have doubled in a two-week period as of April 17.

The Health Ministry has reported at least 117 clusters (as of yesterday) linked to educational institutions so far. These clusters were detected at both public and private education facilities.

Schools in Selangor and Johor have also had to close after positive cases were detected among staff and students.

In Johor, 27 schools were closed last Wednesday, comprising 10 religious schools and 17 primary, secondary and vernacular schools.

In Selangor, 19 schools were closed early last week in the Petaling district. – April 27, 2021.