Teachers who won’t get vaxxed may be transferred: Radzi

LANGKAWI – Teachers who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 may be transferred elsewhere if their actions affect student education.

Senior Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin said one of the solutions being mulled in the interest of the students’ safety was to transfer the teachers out.

“Previously, unvaccinated teachers could not teach face-to-face but must be present in school, where they are put in a special place and given assignments.

“However, we find teachers at certain schools who refuse to be vaccinated but continue to teach the same subjects, so how can we continue learning in this context?” he said to reporters after visiting the Langkawi Vocational College here today. 

He said this issue should not be allowed to prolong and transfers, including interstate, may be carried out to resolve it.

Radzi said that even in the early stages, teachers who refused to be vaccinated had been advised and given sufficient time to get their jabs.

“Of the 2,500 teachers who refused to be vaccinated, now there are only about 2,000 of them. This may look like a small number, but we cannot let this go on and we must take immediate action,” he said.

He said his ministry was waiting for the Public Service Department to decide on the appropriate form of action to be taken against the teachers.

On the vaccination of teenagers, he said although he could not make any conclusion regarding the process now, it does look to be running very well and in an orderly manner.

“The vaccination programme for teenagers just started and we are monitoring parents’ acceptance… but, so far, there is good acceptance and parents are determined to send their children to get vaccinated. We will continue to monitor the situation,” he said. – Bernama, September 26, 2021