READY TO START
AFTER about four months away due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many students are excited about the prospect of returning to school in two phases on July 15 and 22.
AFTER three months of strict movement restrictions due to the Covid19 pandemic, schools will finally welcome back primary and secondary students in phases, starting July 15.
Senior Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin said the process is being carried out in three phases, allowing students in Year 1 to Year 6, Form 1 to Form 4, Form 6 (Semester 1) and remove classes to return to school.
The first phase, which began on June 24, saw the reopening of 2,500 schools for 500,444 students sitting public examinations this year.
These included those sitting Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia and equivalent international school examinations.
The second phase will begin on July 15, involving students in Form 6 (Semester 1), Form 1 to Form 4, and remove classes, as well as Year 5 and Year 6.
The third phase will begin on July 22 and involves Year 1 to Year 4 students.
“These dates apply to government schools, government-aided schools, private schools, and any educational institution registered under the Education Ministry.
“Schools that are not registered are recommended to observe the reopening dates,” Radzi announced in a televised press conference yesterday.
Tuition, language and development centres, Radzi added, could also reopen on July 15.
To ensure social distancing was practised, he said schools would be allowed to choose between three models, depending on each school’s capacity.
Model One, or the “single session model”, applies to schools that have sufficient classrooms or space to accommodate all students in a single session, after taking into account social distancing. Schools implementing this model will operate as usual.
Model Two, the “two-session model”, can be used by schools that do not have enough space to accommodate all students in one session.
Model Three, or the “rotation model”, is for schools with insufficient space to accommodate students either in single or two sessions.
Radzi said most schools that would be implementing the rotation model were in high-density areas.
“For the rotation model, students in Form 5 and Form 6 must attend school daily, while attendance of Form 1 to Form 4 students is on rotation, based on classes or streams.
“It would be up to the school to decide on the suitable rotation method based on their students’ needs. For example, if the school has enough space, Form 4 students would also attend physical classes daily.”
Priority would be given to Form 4 students as they are preparing for next year’s SPM, he added.
Radzi also said Year 1 to Year 6 students could take turns attending school according to their classes or year.
In this regard, he said, schools would have to determine the best rotation method.
Students in the rotation model would participate in hybrid learning methods, which include in-person learning while at school, and home-based learning on days that they were not scheduled to be in school.
“A list of schools and their chosen models will be published by the ministry at least a week before schools reopen,” he said, adding that schools would be allowed to implement only one model.
Radzi said working hour flexibility would be given to teachers in schools that implemented Model Two and Model Three.
This, he said, was to ensure that teachers were not overworked when schools fully reopen on July 22.
Radzi said if a single-session school shifted to two sessions due to space constraints in implementing social distancing, the school management would have to prepare individual schedules for teachers as well, apart from students.
“Schools will study the number of teachers required for each session. If teachers are required to teach in the morning and evening sessions, their working hours will be managed accordingly.
“In this context (two-session model), schools will look at the situation and offer flexibility to enable teachers to come in near the end of the morning period and continue on to the evening session.
“So there will be an overlap without any addition to the teaching hours. We believe there are many ways in which these models (particularly the two-session and rotation models) can be carried out in an effective and efficient manner.”
As for boarding schools, Radzi said, students were expected to return to their dorms between 28 and 42 days from June 24.
Hostels that had adequate capacity with social distancing in place would operate as usual.
“Following recommendations from the Health Ministry, we have allowed bottom bunks to be used (for dormitories with limited space).
“After 14 days, new groups of students would be allowed into dormitories, where existing students would be asked to move to the upper bunk.”
He said this procedure would continue until all students eventually returned to the hostels.
Radzi also said co-curricular and sporting activities could not be held just yet.
“Co-curricular and sports activities cannot be held yet. Students and teachers will only come to school for teaching and learning.
“Schools will be informed when activities outside the classroom can be held.”
Radzi gave his assurance that the decision to reopen schools this month for students of all educational levels was done following consultations with the Health Ministry and the National Security Council (NSC).
“Based on the assessment of school readiness and preparations, we believe that all schools are ready for reopening.
“School managements have also made careful planning to manage student intake.
“The Education Ministry always refers to the Health Ministry and the NSC before coming to any decision on the reopening of schools.
“Based on the current Covid-19 situation, the Health Ministry and the NSC have agreed that school reopening can be done soon.”
Radzi said home-based learning, which was implemented during the Movement Control Order period, had its weaknesses as it was a new method for teachers and students, as well as parents.
He said many students could not participate in online learning sessions due to limited access to technology.
This, he added, limited the efficacy of home-based learning.
“If this situation continues, students will face difficulty in achieving the minimum mastery level in each subject.
“This will affect students’ interest and motivation.
“The relationship between students and the school will also be affected as they have been away from the schooling environment for a long time.”
He urged teachers, students and parents to cooperate with the Education Ministry to ensure the full reopening of schools could be done safely and smoothly.