KUALA LUMPUR – The Education Ministry (MoE) has proposed to the National Security Council (NSC) that students in examination classes be allowed to return to school earlier than stipulated in Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan.
Education Minister Datuk Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said to support the move, MoE is also requesting the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee (JKJAV) to expedite vaccination for teachers and students in the category.
“Nonetheless, all these are subject to NSC’s decision on when these students will be able to return to school to attend regular classes. The matter of vaccination is under JKJAV, so it will be implementing all processes.
“In the context of education, we will discuss how we can implement vaccination at schools, which needs an in-depth study,” he said in an online National Recovery Plan interview today.
According to him, so far, 36% or 148,580 teachers have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Asked if other teachers and students not involved in examination classes are also given priority in the vaccination exercise, Radzi said MoE made the recommendation to JKJAV based on priority due to the limited supply of vaccines.
“If we can, we want everyone to be vaccinated. Nonetheless, from a priority aspect, which is subject to limited supply, we are recommending that Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) students be given priority,” he said.
Based on the National Recovery Plan announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently, the education sector will be allowed to reopen in stages starting in Phase 3 when the country has met three threshold values, which are expected to be achieved at the earliest by end-August.
The threshold values include average daily cases falling below 2,000, the public health system at a comfortable level with the intensive care units’ bed occupancy rate falling to an appropriate level, and 40% of the country’s population having received two doses of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Radzi explained that the ministry’s earlier decision, including the cancellation of Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) this year, will remain even when those involved have received their jabs.
On the special recruitment of 18,702 teachers to resolve the issue of manpower shortages in some states, Radzi stressed that candidates who have the proper education backgrounds will be given priority before opening the posts to other graduates.
Nonetheless, selected candidates who do not have professional education backgrounds will be given adequate training to ensure they can conduct teaching and learning sessions well.
“We place great emphasis on the quality of teachers in schools so, this is not an arbitrary recruitment but an organised and thorough process. If the teacher for a particular subject cannot be filled by a graduate with an education background, we will ensure that the selected candidate receives adequate training.
“Have faith in us because we are trying to resolve issues that have been lingering for a long time, and the approach we have taken will not affect the quality of teachers who will teach in schools in the future," he said.
Meanwhile, Radzi said, MoE is also working to resolve the issue of the transfer of ‘unhappy’ teachers, and asked all parties to give some time to the ministry to formulate a more comprehensive approach.
“Unhappy” teachers usually refer to couples who are both teachers, with one in the peninsula while the other is in Sabah or Sarawak, or, in certain cases, with a child who lives with one of them. – Bernama, June 22, 2021
