Lack of teaching staff a challenge as schools reopen

THE effect of a lack of teaching staff will be more severely felt as schools reopen in the coming weeks after being halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sin Chew Daily reported.

National Union of Heads of Schools president Wong Sheet Fatt said resources would be stretched thin as schools would have to reduce class sizes to practise social distancing.

This meant each school would have to hold extra classes in the afternoon, resulting in a heavier workload for teachers, he said.

It was reported earlier that the Education Ministry would allow schools to choose between three models when reopening on

July 15.

Model 1 recommends schools to conduct lessons in one session.

Model 2 recommends a dual session for schools that cannot accommodate all their students in one session, while Model 3 recommends a rotational system where students attend classes on alternate days.

Wong noted that while Models 1 and 2 were ideal, many SJKCs were already practising a dual session system prior to the pandemic due to a lack of space, so they would have to opt for Model 3.

> Oriental Daily reported that Malaysian singer Soo Wincci (pic) had revealed that she was once “kicked out of the house” for pursuing her academic goals.

The 34-year-old, who has five degrees, said her relationship with her family became strained when her decided to pursue a second PhD in Artistic Production in Spain.

“I ended up sleeping in the office. I couldn’t go home. My mum and dad thought I was mad to study so much,” Soo said during an interview on online talk show Talk2U.

Having gone to Spain alone last year, she recalled how at one point, she only had €1 (RM5) to her name but was determined not to borrow a single sen from her parents.

“I cried every day. Due to restrictions on my student visa, I couldn’t return to Malaysia to hold concerts.

“I put all my time into my job just to survive. It was the lowest point of my life and no one saw (what I was going through),” she added.

However, the former Miss World Malaysia 2008 said her relationship with her parents improved after she returned home from Spain due to the pandemic.