KUCHING: The Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) is hoping that the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) would reassess the situation in Sarawak and make recommendations on the situation before the reopening of schools.
STU president Adam Prakash Abdullah said this in view of the 5,291 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the state yesterday (Sept 12).
“We welcome the announcement on the reopening of schools made by Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin as schools have been closed for too long and the announcement is surely long-awaited news for students, parents and teachers.
“We are quite happy with the arrangement where only 50 percent of the total school student population will be allowed to be in school on a weekly rotation basis. The number of students in every class will also be limited to 50 percent of the enrolment.
“Moreover, we are very eager for the children and teachers to come back to school and continue the normal classroom face-to-face interactions.
“We are never against the reopening of schools but will not be a party to force students and teachers to return when the situation is still unsafe,” he said in a statement yesterday (Sept 12).
Adam also said that he hopes the vaccination process would continue when students come back to schools as it to ensure that all are protected from the coronavirus.
At the same time, he noted that teachers must prepare themselves emotionally as it will be a daunting task to make sure that the students are mentally prepared to be in school after a long absence.
“We have to be more accommodating with the students’ reactions, attitude towards learning and concentration time. We also urge parents to help motivate their children and provide support so that children will be eager to come back to school again,” he added.
