STUDENTS in Sarawak’s red zone, where schools have been ordered close for two weeks since April 20, will not be returning to class until June 13.

The coming Hari Raya holidays, the post-Raya national circuit-breaker and then the two-week term holidays all add up to keep the 1,009 schools in the state’s 21 red zone districts shut until the middle of June, Sarawak Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Michael Manyin told The Malaysian Insight.

They were supposed to return to class on May 3, at the end of the Sarawak disaster management committee-imposed infection circuit-breaker, but Education Minister Radzi Jidin made the decision to let the schools remain shut as it would only be five schooling days before the schools start their Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays from May 8 to 16.

Radzi yesterday also announced that for two weeks after the Raya holidays – from May 17 to 28 – classes nationwide will be held online and students are to attend “classes” through the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).

The closure, he said, was to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections after the holidays.

The closure will again continue after the home learning period as the students start their term holidays from May 29 to June 13.

Manyin said it will be a long holiday for the 372,433 students and 30,435 teachers in the closed 863 primary and 146 secondary schools.

He said his online meeting with Radzi this afternoon showed the two different approaches the state government and the federal government take in handling infections in school.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah, who chairs the state disaster management committee.

Manyin said the state government adopts a proactive policy in “taking no chances” while the federal government adopts a reactive policy – act when only there is an infection.

“While we are not taking chances and close all schools within the red zone even if there are no reported infection in the schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) adopts a policy that if there is one reported positive case, the school should close for a minimum of two days,” he said.

“That’s the guideline they (MOE) want us to consider.”

One day would be for sanitation and the other for situation evaluation.

The closure will also be dependent on the report of the district health officer.

“The minister asked us to reconsider (our policy) as the way forward after the May 28,” said Manyin.

He said during the long holiday, his ministry will sit down with the state education department, the disaster committee and health department on “what should be our way forward”.

He added that the way forward could be to follow the MOE’s list of guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOP) it had drawn up but “adjusted to suit our situation”.

Manyin said the blanket closure of schools in highly infected areas, even though there is no infection reported in the schools, is a cause for concern for Radzi.

“We told him had we not closed the schools the spike would have been worse.”

He, however, said the minister was also right when he said he was concerned about the consequences of the long closure on the students’ education.

Radzi reportedly said the students could be missing school for up to a year.

He also argued that the movement of students could be more controlled if they are in school, Manyin said.

“They would be confined to the school. If they are not in school, they could be more mobile, even going from one kampung to another,” Manyin quoted Radzi as saying.

Manyin said Radzi took a good one hour to explain the rationale of his reactive policy and keeping the school open. – April 27, 2021.