KUCHING (Sept 13): It is hoped that the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will reassess the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak before reopening schools, said Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) president Adam Prakash Abdullah.
While the union welcomed the announcement made by Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin yesterday on the reopening of schools in states under Phase 3 and 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) from Oct 3 with 50 per cent capacity in classrooms, he hoped the ministry and SDMC can come up with good recommendations in regards to the reopening of schools in the state.
“Based on Sarawak’s latest Covid-19 cases at 5,291 today, it is the hope of every parent in the state that the Sarawak government will make a good assessment before schools are allowed to be reopened,” he said in a statement.
He said STU is very eager for students and teachers to come back to school and continue the normal classroom face-to-face interactions.
“We are never against the reopening of schools but will not be a party to force students and teachers to return to work when the situation is still unsafe,” he added.
He said the announcement made by Radzi was no doubt a long-awaited news for students, parents and teachers, as schools have been closed for far too long.
“We are quite happy with the arrangement where only 50 per cent of the total school student population will be allowed to be in school on a weekly rotation basis.
“The number of students in every class will also be limited to 50 per cent of the enrolment,” he added.
He hoped that teachers will prepare themselves emotionally as it would be a daunting task to make the students mentally prepared to be in school after the long absence.
“We have to be more accommodating with the students’ reactions and attitude towards learning and concentration time in the lessons.
“We also urge parents to help motivate their children and provide support so that the children will want to come back to school again,” he said.
He also said that STU hoped that the Covid-19 vaccination initiative will continue when students return to school to ensure that they are protected from the virus.
Radzi at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday also said that schools in states under Phase 1 of the NRP will remain closed while for states under Phase 2, examination classes like Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), pre-university, sports schools as well as special needs schools can reopen but also at 50 per cent capacity.