With CMCO ending in some states, will schools be opened?

 

MP SPEAKS | I believe these heartwarming news stories have flooded the Facebook of many Malaysians:

1. Mujalifah Kassim, a teacher from SMK Sibu Jaya visited her students who have no internet access and marked their homework outside their house gates to ensure they don’t feel left behind in class.

2. Teacher Sambau Dugat from SMK Lubok Antu led a group of primary and secondary students from his village in Nanga Sumpa and nearby Nanga Jambu on a jungle trek just to get good internet coverage.

I want to join Malaysians in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Mujalifah and Sambau. Words cannot express how grateful we are for your dedication and enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, I would also like to take this opportunity to invite my fellow Malaysians to consider this: Is there a necessity for these teachers and students to endure such hardship?

According to statistics published by the Sarawak State Health Department, there was only one red zone and two yellow zones in the whole of Sarawak from Nov 6 to Nov 19. Kuching recorded 97 cases making it a red zone, while Lawas and Miri recorded only one and five cases respectively.

Sibu is 300km away from Kuching, 400km away from Miri, and 600km away from Lawas. Meanwhile, Lubok Antu is 250km away from Kuching, 600km from Miri, and 850km from Lawas.

Both areas have not recorded any active Covid-19 cases nor new cases over the past two weeks. However, schools in both Sibu and Lubok Antu have been closed since Nov 9.

According to Sambau, he organised the trip after seeing students from his village frequently make the journey on their own recently.

As there are no proper roads leading to the destination, 14 primary school pupils and eight secondary school students walk for about 45 minutes through a dense jungle, crossed many streams, and then walked another one hour and 45 minutes uphill to a place where they could finally access the internet.

Sambau and Mujalifah did what they did because their students were left behind in their studies.

The Education Ministry is fully aware of the digital gap among students. Its very own survey showed that 36.9 percent of pupils nationwide do not have any electronic devices while internet access and speed are some of the main issues students face during home-based learning.

So, is there a need to close schools in Sibu and Lubok Antu when these two areas have been Covid-19 free for 14 days, especially when online learning cannot be carried out effectively?

Sibu and Lubok Antu are not the only green zones in Sarawak. From the map released by the state Health Department, 90 percent of Sarawak remains a green zone, and these are mainly rural areas.

A hasty decision to close all schools nationwide will only widen the existing education gap. Until and unless the vaccine is widely available, the Covid-19 virus will remain a threat. Are we then going to close all schools nationwide whenever there is a spike of cases in certain areas?

And with the conditional movement control order ending in Johor, Kedah, Malacca, and Terengganu today, ahead of the initial ending date of Dec 9, will the Education Ministry now reconsider its SOP to close all schools?

Last but not least, I want to thank Mujalifah, Sambau, and many unsung heroes out there once again. During this trying time, you are the hope and strength of our children. The nation is deeply indebted to you.

---

TEO NIE CHING is the Kulai MP. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.