No need to shut school

From Abdul Johan

I refer to your article “Parents want school closed after 4 positive Covid-19 cases”.

The few parents interviewed may want the school closed, but this does not reflect the stand of many parents who send their children to SK Subang Jaya (SKSJ).

A digital petition was initiated on Monday. After more than 48 hours, this petition only managed to hit 445 signatories, below the targeted 500.

This was even despite the petition being opened to the public, which means anyone can be a signatory even if their child is not enrolled in SKSJ.

A majority of parents were not engaged by the PIBG, nor by these individuals who initiated this petition.

Don’t get me wrong. We all love our children and we are concerned about their well-being and safety.

The school administration and teachers have done tremendously well, given the circumstances, in enforcing the SOPs.

Pupils are bound to their respective desks, even during recess time. There is no interaction between classes. They have been confined to their respective bubbles since school opened on March 1.

When some pupils tested positive, their respective classes were put under home quarantine. Similarly, 17 teachers who had some contact with the infected pupils were also quarantined.

Given all these safeguard measures, there is no need to overreact and call for a blanket directive for the school to be shut.

If there is any reason to suspend school, it would be because of a lack of available teachers. With a majority of teachers quarantined, there are only six teachers available to teach 10 classes in the afternoon session.

Again, I would like to thank the district education and health offices for taking quick action in mitigating the pandemic to enable the schooling session to continue.

Abdul Johan is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.