KUALA LUMPUR – Face-to-face school sessions resumed in Terengganu, Kelantan and Langkawi today, kicking off the reopening of schools that had were shut nationwide for about six months due to Covid-19.
In Terengganu, 35,438 students turned up at their classes while 2,159 pupils were present in Langkawi.
They included those who will be sitting their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations, special needs (MBK) or Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI) students and pre-school pupils.
Terengganu has moved into Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) while Langkawi is under the travel bubble following provisions of Phase 4 of the four-phase NRP.
In Kelantan, which is in Phase 2, only STPM semester two students, students with special needs at SK Pendidikan Khas and PPKI students will attend schools.
Tomorrow, face-to-face school sessions will begin here, in Pahang, Melaka, Selangor, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Sabah, Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan, with the attendance of students according to the NRP phases the states are in.
The reopening of schools in Langkawi involved 25 primary schools with 852 students, including six schools for PPKI and 19 preschools.
The rest were 13 secondary schools with 1,306 students, which included five schools for PPKI (140 students), two schools for Form 6 semester two (138 students) and six schools with a rotation system for 1,028 Form 5 students.
In Terengganu, it involved 17,193 SPM candidates, and 4,873 STPM students, with 2,166 being students from semester two and 2,707 from semester one.
Apart from this, 2,566 MBK or PPKI students and 10,806 preschool pupils also reported to schools in the state.
Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin also visited SMK Sultan Sulaiman this morning to check on the first day of the reopening, accompanied by Terengganu Education Department director Salim Ab Ghani.
Checks by Bernama found that compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) were at a satisfactory level among students, teachers and parents at the schools.
The SOPs include teachers recording attendance and taking body temperatures, the use of hand sanitisers, students following arrows marked for entry and exit within the school compound, as well as maintaining physical distancing in classrooms.
Students staying at boarding schools and day schools are also required to undergo Covid-19 screening tests to curb the spread of the virus in schools.
Bernama’s checks at the Butterworth Vocational School in Penang found that students who returned to the hostel were required to take screening tests using self-test kits, and those found positive would be asked to undergo home quarantine.
Most of the students and parents interviewed said they were looking forward to the reopening of schools tomorrow, and were satisfied with the SOP implementation to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission. – Bernama, October 3, 2021
