As the Conditional Motion Control Order reaches into its late stages, many parents have no doubt been wondering when it is that they can send their children back to their respective schools to resume their education after a lengthy two-month absence.
After all, not long ago, the Education Minister has already spoken on the conditions that the Ministry had planned to enforce when schools do reopen, chiefly in only allowing 17 students to be in each classroom at any given time.
MOE has not made a decision to reopen schools.
Well, it may seem that parents will still have to wait a while longer before they can send their kids back into classrooms, as officials from the Ministry of Education have made no decision to allow the reopening of schools on the 10th of June, 2020. As reported by Oriental Daily, Ministry of Education officials said that this decision will affect students who are meant to be taking their examinations this year.
This will likely refer only to high school students, as examinations for Primary Six students have already been cancelled for this academic year.
In speaking with the Chinese daily, the official had mentioned that the Ministry of Education is looking into two key areas before coming to any decision to reopen schools again. The first being gaining the approval of both the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council for their proposed SOPs.
The second is the observation of the trend in new cases being reported, especially after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“It is necessary to observe whether there will be a new outbreak of Covid-19 in Malaysia after Hari Raya Aidilfitri,
Classes may only resume if it is proven that there will not be a new outbreak of Covid-19 after the holidays.” he said.
When are schools allowed to reopen?
The Ministry of Education is currently still in the process of drafting their SOPs, and are working to ensure that it will be adaptable for schools of all sizes. Discussions on when schools are allowed to reopen are still ongoing, and the safety of both students and teachers are still their top priority.
This is corroborated by the fact that primary schools have also not received any instructions to reopen schools at this time.
However, in a notice issued to all teachers with university qualification (DG 41) who had applied with the Ministry of Education during September 2019 and had already been recruited for duty, they will be expected to report for work by 10th June 2020.
Previously, the Ministry of Education has reminded that any decision to reopen schools will be made with two weeks prior notice to allow for the adequate preparations to be made.
What do you guys think of this development?
Also read: Only 17 Students Per Class Allowed When School Reopens, Says Education Minister