Mara assures safety of MRSM students

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents of Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) students nationwide have been given the assurance on the safety of their children after a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidate at the Lipis MRSM was confirmed Covid-19 positive recently.

Mara chairman Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun said Mara had taken preventive measures and was always liaising with the District Health Office (PKD) on the health of the students.

‘'Parents can contact the college management if there are concerns about their children.

‘'Mara is sensitive and is taking the affairs of the students at the colleges during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period seriously,'' she said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

On Jan 20, the Pahang National Security Council (MKN) announced that 144 Lipis MRSM students were quarantined after one of its students was found Covid-19 positive on Tuesday (January 19).

Of the total, 142 female students underwent quarantine at the Housing and Local Government Training Institute (I-KPKT), Bukit Tinggi while two male students were quarantined at the hostel.

Azizah, who is also Beaufort MP, said, currently, Mara had allowed 8,106 Form Five MRSM students (Year 2020) to return to their hostels on Jan 9 to undergo face-to-face learning sessions as preparation for SPM.

The other students from Form Two to Form Five (Year 2021) are attending online learning at their respective homes (PdPR) as the stipulated schedules and date for them to return to their colleges for faceto-face learning sessions would be announced later.

‘'The students must follow the standard operation procedures (SOP) set by MKN before returning to MRSM.

‘'Meanwhile, parents who sent their children were only given 30 minutes with only one guardian allowed to help carry the luggage and were not allowed into the hostels.

‘'For the duration of stay at the colleges, the students must comply with the basic SOP encompassing temperature check to identify symptomatic students before the Learning and Teaching sessions at the colleges by the teachers on duty.

‘'The colleges must also follow the school's opening guidelines with stringent SOP compliance for all MRSMs such as wearing masks, physical distancing, washing hands with water and soap or sanitisers,'' she added. Bernama