BY ANNABELL NAJA TOMMY
KUCHING: The jury is still out on the wisdom of allowing all primary students to attend face-to-face classes this month, thus doing away with the rotation system which was put in place after physical classes were allowed to resume.
The back to class move announced recently by the Ministry of Education will commence on Apr 17 in some states while in others it will start on Apr 18.
Some parents are looking forward to see their children get back to attending physical classes while some have lingering worries over their children’s health.
New Sarawak Tribune managed to speak to the public on the matter.
Luis Watt, 38, Businesswoman
“As a parent, I am worried about the current situation where the virus is on the rise especially with the COVID-19 Omicron variant. At the same time, I am also worried if children continue to study from home (PDPR) for too long because their studies will be interrupted due to Internet facilities in remote village areas being unsatisfactory, thus making it difficult for them to learn from home.
Having said that parents need to be wise in dealing with the problems so as to reduce stress in their families when the country is still facing the COVID-19 pandemic at this time. Always remember to practice physical distance and ensure personal and children’s hygiene.”
Sharifah Rodziah Wan Junaidi, 51, Housewife
“In my opinion, I agree if all children go to school without rotation. For me, a face-to-face class with a teacher is better, because this way is more effective, students can ask questions and the teacher will also be happy to give a clear explanation. As for PDPR learning, especially for working parents, it is quite difficult for them to monitor their children.
As a parent, I am also concerned with the current situation, COVID-19 cases are on the rise. I hope the school can provide a strict SOP for the students. It is hoped that parents also always monitor the health of their children, if there are symptoms such as cough or cold, please do not send the child to school, for the safety of all. “
Heleni Alia Philip Greene, 45, Private employer
“I’m not too worried because teachers always give guidance to attend school. For me, I would rather encourage my children to go to school than to sit at home without doing homework.
As a mother, I find it quite difficult to teach the subjects that the teacher gives to my children. For instance, I had to use Google translation to translate every word for the Mandarin subject. I hope that the reopening of the school session will also be able to restore the motivation of children.”
Laja Ili, 39, Housewife
“For me, I agree with children going to school for face-to-face sessions because it is easier for children to ask questions directly to the teachers. In fact, children are more disciplined in terms of study time and more focused when learning face to face with teachers compared to PDPR.
Even so, with the COVID-19 spread that is still high in the country it puts parents in a dilemma, with concerns about COVID-19 infection especially the Omicron variant that might infect the children, but we can always remind children to abide by the SOP while at school, to wash their hands regularly with soap and sanitise.”
Lydia Sindah Dani, 24, Promoter
“My feeling about the announcement is that I am very concerned about the age factor of my child who is still young especially with regard to the level of cleanliness.
Moreover, the number of cases that are still high is also my concern. But I also have to agree with the announcement because children now desperately need learning from school apart from home. I hope the school always monitors the children to follow the SOPs throughout their learning and always maintains cleanliness.”
