Malaysia recorded its highest new daily Covid-19 infections yesterday with a whopping 869 cases. This followed the worrying trend of 3-digit daily cases that has been going on which seems unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Understandably, as such causes nationwide concerns amongst parents about the safety of their children when they send them to school. While schools in states and districts in which Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) are enforced are closed, primary and secondary schools in places unaffected by the ruling still remain open.
Aware of this sense of uneasiness amongst Malaysian parents, the Minister of Education, Dr Radzi Jidin explained his ministry’s decision regarding the matter on a televised talk show yesterday. In the ‘Soal Rakyat’ programme on TV3 yesterday, Dr Radzi asserted that the decision was made because the ministry doesn’t want students to be left behind in their education.
This is due to alternative learning sessions requiring access to technology and internet infrastructure which students living in rural areas lack. Dr Radzi asserted that if schools were ordered to immediately close due to Covid-19, students without internet access would suffer.
The Education Minister stressed,
“When we talk about online learning, for us that are well-off or have access to internet and technology, we view online learning as the best possible solution. We at the ministry feel the same way, however, our concern is that many of the children out there live in areas where internet access is limited.”
Dr Radzi went on to mention that some Malaysian families don’t even have any devices to connect to the internet with. The fate and education of these children must be considered before any decision would be made.
In fact, Dr Radzi explained that the Education Ministry is well aware of many quarters raising questions as to why schools are not closed with the rise of Covid-19. However, a decision regarding the matter is not as easy as it looks.
Dr Radzi stressed,
“I want to iterate that the Education Ministry is in charge for taking care of 5 million students, from primary schools to several levels higher.”
“Secondly, we have over 500,000 teachers and staffs. Furthermore, we are in charge of over 10,000 schools and higher education institutes. Therefore, any decision made by the Education Ministry will impact not just our ministry, but the whole of the country. Hence, we won’t be in a hurry in making any decisions.”
You can view the whole interview with Dr Radzi Jidin here:
What do you guys think of the clarification made by the Education Minister? Do you think it’s the correct decision? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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