“If anything happens, who will be responsible?” M’sians Express Concern Over School Reopening In September

Will you allow your kids to go to school?

Despite the rapid ongoing vaccination process in our country, the number of daily Covid cases continue to surge. Just last Friday (6 August 2021), Malaysia recorded 20,889 in daily cases, the highest since the beginning of this pandemic. Meanwhile, schools are expected to reopen on 1 September, less than a month from now, but with these numbers staring at us on a daily basis, many are questioning if this is the right time for the students to return to school.

Just recently, Muar MP, Syed Saddiq tweeted about this issue and questioned if the government is truly ready for the schools to be reopened, given the number of daily cases and deaths which show no signs of reduction at the moment. He also added that 1,725 deaths were reported in the first 8 days of August, bringing the total fatality in Malaysia to 10,749.

Dalam masa 8 hari dalam bulan Ogos, 1,725 nyawa terkorban dari COVID-19.

Jumlah kematian keseluruhan dah cecah 10,749 orang.

Sekolah pula nak buka 1 September. Kurang sebulan lagi ni. Hari ni dah 9 Ogos.

Kerajaan BETUL-BETUL bersedia atau tidak untuk sekolah dibuka?? pic.twitter.com/5pNgHJSTJK

— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) August 9, 2021

The tweet received a lot of responses, mostly from students and parents who expressed their concerns with this decision given the current circumstances.

“Forgive me YB, if schools are reopened, my parents and me will not allow my siblings to go to school with the deadly Covid variants nowadays.”

“As a parent, I’m not ready. I struggled for a few months to get used to the children’s PdPR. Now that I’m used to it, given the condition nowadays, I would rather face the PdPR with the children than putting them at risk for Covid-19.”

*PdPR stands for Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Di Rumah or Teaching and Learning From Home.

“I won’t allow my children to go to school… If anything happens, who will be responsible?”

“Reopen or not, I will not send my children to school. It’s better to stay home than to be intubated in the hospital. Simply no confidence in the way things are being handled now.”

“I have the same point of view, sir. Life and health(not just students, but also parents and family) are of utmost importance. 

In a press conference last month,  Health- DG, Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisyam Abdullah shared that the virus is expected to be at its peak of transmission in mid-September, with an approximate number of 24,000 daily cases!

At the same time, UMNO’s president, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi questioned the government’s strategy in terms of handling the reopening of the schools.

In one of his Facebook posts, he states that students should continue to study from home unless the predictions made by the Ministry Of Health are inaccurate. Additionally, the vaccination rates among the teachers and the staff are also unclear, as well as the fact that all students are yet to be vaccinated, making it more dangerous for the schools to be reopened.

With the pandemic seeing no end any time soon, the fear of the risks is high among students, parents and teachers. So, is it a good move to reopen schools?

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Also read: “What’s the rationale?” Former Education Minister Shares How Schools Should Be Reopened