Not wise to reopen schools on Oct 3, says DAP man
SARIKEI: The decision to reopen ‘in-person’ school sessions from October 3 is not wise, taking into consideration the current Covid-19 situation in the country, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarikei branch vice-chairman Wong Pak Ming said.
When the main reason for closing schools was the alarming number of positive Covid-19 cases recorded in the country, it would, therefore, be ridiculous for the Ministry of Education to call off or lift the decision when the number of positive cases had gone higher than before, he added.
“For instance, the number of Covid-19 infections in Sarawak was among the lowest in the country and in the past few weeks it recorded above 3,000 cases daily, to become the top contributor to the national tally of over 20,000 cases daily,” Wong said.
He stressed that Covid-19 was still very serious in Sarawak and the announcement to reopen schools nationwide, and in Sarawak in particular, from Oct 3, was not a wise decision.
“Reopening of schools should depend on the situation of Covid19. There were more than 3,000 cases per day for past weeks in Sarawak, mostly due to the Delta variant. If there is Delta virus outbreak in schools, it would go out of control, especially the rural schools that lack health facilities and are vulnerable,” Wong said.
Furthermore, he believed that most parents were still reluctant to allow their children to go to school as they did not want to gamble with the lives of their children when the situation was not secure.
Moreover, many children had not been vaccinated, he added.
Wong, therefore, urged the Ministry of Education to defer its decision to reopen schools for ‘in-person’ classes to a later date to ensure the safety of students, especially the young children and those who are not included in the national immunisation programme.
He also hoped that the state government would hold discussion with the Education Ministry urgently to draw up standard operating procedure (SOP) for schools and to see whether it is really safe to open schools for ‘in-person’ classes in the current situation.