KUALA LUMPUR – “I don’t want to die at school.”
This is the short, but powerful statement made by netizen “Sabrina” as students prepare to resume in-person classes starting next month.
The comment was in response to a tweet by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman questioning if the government is truly ready to reopen schools beginning September 1 amid record-high Covid-19 cases and deaths.
Daily infections have been consistently above 17,000 over the past week, reaching an all-time high of 20,889 on Friday. On Sunday, there were 360 fatalities from the coronavirus – a toll inconceivable to Malaysians mere months ago.
Sabrina is unsurprisingly not the only one to fear returning to school. A check of the numerous replies to Syed Saddiq’s post found plenty of students and parents expressing similar concerns.
So, are schools really prepared to welcome students back? The short answer is no, according to health and education stakeholders.
They said their biggest fear is that students could become superspreaders, especially in view of the aggressive Delta variant and with children under 18 yet to be vaccinated.
Bringing virus home
Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye told The Vibes that the risk of infection is not only among students, who will likely be in direct contact with one another, but there is also a high possibility of them bringing the coronavirus home.
It is particularly concerning for parents who have yet to get their jab and are at greater risk of experiencing serious symptoms, he said.
He said this is among the main considerations to be made before the government proceeds with its plan to resume in-person classes.
“First of all, I think the government has to be transparent in its actions and decisions, especially with parents. Strategies have to be communicated well, including on the measures in place should there be an outbreak.
And of course, you have to make sure all parents are vaccinated first, especially young couples who are not prioritised under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. If the vaccination coverage is insufficient, there is certainly a risk.”
He proposed that Putrajaya postpone the reopening of schools until it amends its policy and vaccinates all secondary school students.
The government may face difficulty convincing parents to send their children to school come September 1 as many will continue to practise caution, he added.
Review reopening, mandate jabs for teachers
National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president Assoc Prof Datuk Mohd Ali Hassan said it is incumbent on the government to carefully review within the next week whether it is safe to resume physical classes given the high Covid-19 caseload.
I think I speak for all parents when I say we very much fear that children could be superspreaders, what more with the Delta and Lambda variants present.”
“The government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated individuals returning from abroad to self-quarantine at home does not help things. This is the real fear.”
If Putrajaya insists on carrying on with physical classes, he said, teachers and other education staff must already be vaccinated before they are allowed on school grounds.
He proposed that classes resume in stages, with priority given to students sitting major examinations this year.
“A gradual reopening will give room for the relevant parties to monitor and determine whether it is safe for schools to operate at full capacity.”
Let schools decide how to conduct operations
Educationist group Dong Zong’s secretary-general Ng Chai Heng said greater autonomy should be given to schools so that they can decide for themselves how to reduce Covid-19 risks.
This includes alternating students’ attendance.
Ng said parents of children studying in areas classified as red zones should be allowed to decide whether to send their kids to school.
You have to trust these people to make decisions, especially the schools. Get the respective PTAs and the school administration to determine how they want to rearrange the timetables so that students take turns attending school each day.”
“Whether they split attendance according to standard (student batches) or the different classes, the schools would know best. There should be no one-size-fits-all policy, as practised by the Education Ministry currently.”
The best measure is still to postpone the resumption of in-person schooling until infections drop to a “safe” level, he said.
“I am no expert, but from the numbers alone, we can agree that the situation is still very dangerous. Students have yet to be vaccinated, and you have to ask how this decision (to reopen schools) was made.” – The Vibes, August 11, 2021
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