Almost 95% say no to Sept 1 school reopening

 

The opposition coalition said parents don’t want to gamble with their children’s lives. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Hundreds of thousands of people don’t agree with the reopening of schools on Sept 1, according to a Pakatan Harapan (PH) survey.

The opposition coalition said 94.6% of the 421,445 respondents in the Aug 11-13 survey disagreed with the education ministry’s decision, and only 5.4% agreed.

The survey was conducted by the PH education committee, which reached out to parents, teachers and school staff, it said.

“The increasing number of Covid-19 cases and the increasing number of deaths make parents reluctant to gamble with the lives of their children,” the committee said.

“The ministry must first present SOPs for students who fall under the non-vaccinated category before reopening schools,” it said.

The committee added that the ministry must complete the vaccination process on all who are involved in the education ecosystem – teachers, school workers, including canteen staff, security guards and school bus drivers.

It urged the ministry to ensure that all decisions taken to reopen schools are based on data and science under World Health Organization guidelines, taking into account the infection rate in the community, the increase in new cases, mortality rate and cases in ICU.

It added that the ministry must also have clear and comprehensive guidelines on the reopening of schools, which should be developed with health experts and are transparent to the people.

The committee also said the ministry should avoid making decisions based on the “one size fits all” method, adding that centralised decisions would not help but may result in many students dropping out.

“The government should review vaccination programmes for students who are sitting for major examinations,” it said.

“Many parents will agree with the decision to allow their children to return to school if they have been vaccinated.”

The committee also said if the ministry insisted that all schools be opened, it must be done in phases.

“Rural and inland schools should be given priority first because they have fewer students, followed by schools in green areas.

“After that, schools should be reopened in areas where the vaccine recipients have achieved herd immunity,” it said.

Recently, the ministry announced that schools across the country would resume face-to-face classes in stages from Sept 1.

The ministry said it would continue to take into account risk assessments by the health ministry and the National Security Council. - FMT