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Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin announced that schools will reopen on 3 October
In a video uploaded on his Facebook yesterday, 15 August, Radzi said schools in states currently in Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) are excluded.
Schools under Phase 2 will open only to examination classes, which includes Form 5 and Form 6 students.
As for Phase 3 states, schools will be allowed to reopen fully, admitting all students.
Image via Dr Radzi Jidin (Facebook)
However, he stresses that all school reopenings are subject to risk assessments by the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council
“We must make sure that the overall education ecosystem is fully prepared and there is minimal risk for all our children when we reopen schools,” the minister was quoted as saying by New Straits Times.
He says that standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the National Security Council (MKN) must be adhered by all involved to ensure this.
“MKN’s SOPs allow all schools to reopen (in Phase 3) but there is still a clause where the Ministry of Health must conduct a risk assessment together.”
Schools nationwide had been shut since early May this year in a bid to stem COVID-19 infections amid resurgent case numbers.
Image via Bernama/Sinar Harian
These risk assessments will factor indicators such as vaccination rates and the capacity of health facilities, alongside prevailing conditions in the respective state
“We have to look at it state by state, because some states have good statistics and vaccination rates,” said Radzi.
He cites the example of Labuan and Sarawak, which has achieved impressive vaccination rates and thus the risk assessment is low for schools there.
The two territories have progressed to Phase 3 of the NRP alongside Perlis on 4 August.
The minister also highlighted that 92.4% of teachers and 72.4% of school support workers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.