PETALING JAYA: Thousands of Form 5 students returned to school today for the first time after more than two months with many saying they had mixed feelings towards next month’s Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
Their return coincides with a massive surge in Covid-19 cases, which is about three times higher than the number of daily cases reported when schools were forced to close on Nov 9 last year, and despite many states and all federal territories currently being under the latest movement control order (MCO).
FMT visited schools in the Klang Valley, Sabah, and Sarawak and found all were in order, with students adhering to the strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), including the wearing of face masks, temperature checks, MySejahtera registration and physical distancing.
The return to school was a relief for many who complained of difficulties with online learning. They claimed the inadequacy of online classes made them feel unprepared for their upcoming examinations.
Harris Mohd Jaffri from SMK Bandar Puchong Jaya (A) said that online learning was “not so easy” as there were no fixed time for classes.
“There is a lot of material that I haven’t covered,” he said, adding that he agreed with the call to postpone the major public examinations, namely SPM and STPM.
Another student, Patterson De Silva, agreed with him saying there are challenges with online learning. However, he said SPM should not be postponed.
A parent of a student, Shankar Mathavan, said the exam should be postponed to June to give students more time to prepare.
Two other parents agreed, saying their children were not as prepared as they could be for the exam.
Afiq Mohd Fadzli from SMK Damansara Utama said he was about 80% prepared for SPM as he had been studying on his own. However, he still preferred physical classes as he too thought online learning was not effective.
However, he disagreed with the call to cancel SPM altogether for the 2020 batch after the issue was raised about students becoming mentally drained due to the pandemic and repeated school closures.
Another parent, Mohd Fadzli Yusof said the students must be allowed to move forward into the next phase of their education.
“Even with Covid-19, life needs to go on.”
Infections at an all-time high
Meanwhile, in Sabah, Nicole Jasmine and her friends at SMK St Francis Convent in Kota Kinabalu this morning questioned why students were made to come back to school when infections were at an all-time high.
However, she hoped that SPM would not be delayed any further as it would not be beneficial to students if they had to resort to online classes again. She said many students suffered from (internet) connection disruptions.
Similarly, Myra Richard from SMK All Saints said she felt it was not safe to go to school now when the daily cases reported were “by the thousands”.
She added that she felt rushed having to attend school one month before the examination.
“The best thing is to cancel SPM because I really don’t think it’s safe. The exams are going to be two to three weeks max. This is risking the lives of 400,000 SPM students nationwide just for a test,” Myra said.
While her father, Jason Richard, said it was not a good decision to recall students back to school today, he believed the exam should proceed.
“SPM must carry on only when it is appropriately safe to do so. But going back to school today? I don’t agree with this, or for that matter going back to school over the next two weeks.
“How can we be assured of our children’s safety? If someone’s temperature comes out normal it doesn’t mean they are free from the virus, people can be asymptomatic. Even with swab tests where the first result is negative, it doesn’t mean you don’t have it (Covid-19),” he said.
At SMK Telipok, Debra Johnny said she felt happy to return to school, even though the environment might not be as lively as it was before.
Wearing face shields
In Sarawak, the only state that is currently not under MCO, students from SMK Batu Lintang in Kuching arrived at school as early as 6am. While they all wore face masks, some went the extra distance and even wore face shields.
Student Fakrulnizam Parmin said the reopening of schools today was a must, especially for those who were going to sit for their examinations.
He also hoped there would be no spikes in Covid-19 cases in Sarawak as long as the students adhered to the SOPs.
Meanwhile, for parent Kelly Teo, she said despite being a little worried, schools reopening was for the best as children have been missing out on their education.
There are 400,445 students registered to sit for the 2020 SPM examinations, initially postponed due to Covid-19.
The examination was supposed to be held from Nov 16 to Dec 7 last year, but the government decided to postpone it to Jan 6 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, following the third wave of cases since October last year, the education ministry announced on Nov 8 that SPM would be postponed to Feb 22. - FMT
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