‘Leave schools out of polls’

 

JOHOR BARU: Despite the Education Ministry’s plea to the Election Commission (EC), secondary schools are still being used as polling centres for the Johor election, and the parents of students facing their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination are upset.

A search on the EC website showed several secondary schools listed as polling stations, but the parents feel the schools should not be used for the state election on March 12 as it would disrupt the major examination. The SPM is scheduled from March 2 to March 29.SMK Bandar Baru Uda parent-teacher association (PTA) president Datuk Md Harun Rahim said he was worried about the changes that would have to be made to classrooms for the election.

Although there are no examination papers scheduled for March 11 to 13, he said they would prefer the school not be used as a polling station as the desks and chairs for SPM have already been arranged according to the Education Ministry’s standard operating procedure.

It would all have to be undone and done again over three days just for the polling, he said, adding that there are two primary schools, a religious school and public halls available as alternatives in Bandar Baru Uda.SMK Impian Emas PTA president Mazlan Sulor said he had received many complaints from parents over the matter.

He said the EC’s decision to use secondary schools as polling stations could also pose a health risk to the SPM candidates.“We hope the top leaders, including the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) would look into this and find a win-win situation where SPM and the state polls can run smoothly,” he said.

Mazlan added that the PTA had also written a letter to the Johor EC director on the matter.SMK Aminuddin Baki PTA vice-president Shamsudin Baharon said the high number of daily Covid-19 cases was already worrying without having to deal with thousands of people coming to the school for the election.“We do not want the safety of the schools involved to be compromised.“It is difficult to identify those who might be carrying the virus,” he said.

Another PTA representative, who declined to be named, said his school in Johor Baru was one of those listed on the EC website as a polling station.

“What has been decided by the government should be followed. Usually schoolteachers are roped in to help out with the polling preparations and activities. We hope teachers in charge of the SPM examination will not be taken away from their existing tasks,” he said.Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the EC needed to use 151 secondary schools, but his ministry has written requesting that classrooms reserved for the SPM 2021 exams not be used as polling centres.

“The EC has an Act which allows them to use any premise that is needed (but) we need to ensure that the main exam rooms are not used,” he said yesterday. - Star