KUALA LUMPUR – The Ministry of Education (MoE) is urged to close all schools nationwide for the mean time and return to home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).

The MoE needs to take heed of the suggestion and prepare the umbrella before it rains, said the National Parents-Teacher Associations Consultative Council (PIBGN), considering the increasing trend of Covid-19 cases and the hike of schools related clusters.

The President of PIBGN, Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Ali Hasan said, close to 20 percent of the complaints received from the parents within the past five days involve concerns in sending their children to school.

“Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Security Council (MKN) need to act immediately to overcome the outbreak among educators and students by closing the schools temporarily until the situation stabilises.

“While the schools are closed, PdPR and the Didik TV programme must be implemented immediately with a more attractive concept so that the students would not be left behind in their studies as the vaccination process has not been completed.

“With the loose or non-compliance of standard operating procedures (SOP), we worry that the infection could happen through other activities such as visit to the Ramadan bazaar, supermarkets, cinema and such,” he said when contacted by MalaysiaGazette.

Besides that, Mohamad Ali also suggested that the MoE sets up a customer service hotline managed by the District Education Office (PPD).

The measure could assist the parents on the latest development of school reopening in a district categorised and no-risk, for them to resume to school.

Yesterday, 19 schools in Selangor have been ordered shut following the emergence of Covid-19 cluster. Meanwhile, in Kelantan, 472 schools and Teachers Education Institute (IPG) have been ordered shut until 24 April.

Mohamad Ali also urged the MOE to prioritise vaccination for the teachers and educators as they are with their students everyday.

“Teachers are also a part of the frontliners and I think that they should be given the priority.

“At the moment, vaccination for the teachers are not thorough yet, thus, the best way to curb the spread of the pandemic is by closing down the schools,” he said. –MalaysiaGazette

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