By Jocelyn Yong
Malaysians are finding themselves in the middle of a contentious debate among parents over safety and other priorities. This came right after the Education Minister Datuk Dr. Radzi Jidin announced that schools will be reopened in stages from October 3.
Across the country, about 91% of parents said that they want their children to participate only in distance learning under the current Covid-19 condition, while approximately 5% prefer face-to-face teaching and learning.
With over 20,000 cases everyday, Chia Swee Ting, a mother of three, said that she was totally surprised when she heard that the school will reopen soon.
“I absolutely disagree for the school to reopen,” Chia said. “As a mother, I think that the school children are too young to follow strictly the the standard operating procedures for prevention of Covid-19 infection. They may easily catch the virus and spread it to their family members at home.”
Expressing the same feeling, Muhammad Ali bin al-Muazzam is in strong disagreement over the decision of school reopening.
Muhammad Ali,a 15-year-old student, who is currently studying at SMK Alam Megah, Shah Alam, said that he has been attending the online classes conducted by his school since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented. “I feel safer studying at home compared to attending physical classes as I have four younger siblings at home,” he said.
Another student, 12-year-old Anuskha A/P Badravarman, of SK Seafield, said that she also does not want the school to reopen so soon.
“Before the situation is under control, I have no confidence to attend face-to-face lessons,” she said. “Before the schools were shut down by the Ministry of Education, I went through three rounds of swab tests as there were many cases in my school!”
On the other hand, a Form 5 student, Tan Jun Jie, from SMK Subang Utama, said that he supports the decision to reopen the schools.
“I represent every SPM student, who believes that the school should be reopened,” said the 17-year-old Tan. “We are going to take a major exam. Online classes are not sufficient to prepare us for the examination. We will probably struggle in our studies if schools are not reopened yet!”
Comentários