Dr Kelvin Yii
KUCHING (Mar 6): Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii is demanding that the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Ministry of Education (MoE) justify the abrupt decision for 1,045 schools in Sarawak to resume physical classes on Mar 8 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) lawmaker said the authorities should be transparent and explain in detail the different parameters and considerations being adopted in making their decisions.
“The decision to open schools is a big decision, and must be made based on proper science and data. The government must not simply ‘flip-flop’ in their decisions as this concerns the health and safety of our students and even the staff in all these schools,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Yii observed that the MoE did not seem to have a comprehensive plan on addressing the issue even after a year of facing the pandemic.
He felt that the MoE seemed to be reactive in its policies with constant “flip-flopping and sudden last minute decisions”, leaving parents more concerned and many confused.
“Even if there is a reasonable justification from backtracking from the initial decision by the state that schools in Sarawak Covid-19 red zones would remain closed until Mar 14, the government should come out and clarify what exactly was that reasoning for them to arrive at the decision to declare those schools safe for opening on an earlier date.”
Noting that SDMC had clarified that the decision was not based on the zoning system but risk assessments by the state Health Department and Education Department, Dr Yii said the public especially parents had the right to be informed of the parameters used in the risk assessments.
He said the authorities should reveal the data and different considerations used to determine if it was safe to reopen a school.
“They should explain the reason for switching from ‘zoning system’ to another assessment, and of course the additional preparations and safety measures that will be put in place in all those schools to make sure SOP (standard operating procedures) is properly followed by all,” he said.
He stressed that parents should be allowed clear information for them to make a proper and informed choice whether to send their children back to school or not.
Only by so doing could confidence and acceptance be built among the parents, which should enable them to make an informed choice for what is best for their children, he said.
“At the end of the day, when it comes to important policies, the government must be transparent and properly explain to the public the justifications of such a decision not just because of the inconvenience that it may cause, but more importantly because it involves the health, security, and education of our children,” added Dr Yii.
SDMC announced yesterday that 1,045 schools would reopen from Mar 8, which included the 814 schools that had been opened since March 1.
It added that a total of 220 government and government-aided schools in Covid-19 high risk areas in the state would remain closed until Mar 14.
“This decision was made after a risk assessment was done in line with the School Management and Operation Guidelines in the New Norm 2.0 by the MoE,” said SDMC in its Covid-19 update statement.
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