Sarawak Teachers’ Union hopes exam-year students allowed back to school after Aidilfitri

Adam Prakash Abdullah

KUCHING (April 28): The Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) hopes students sitting for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) would be allowed to attend school physically after Hari Raya Aidilfitri if the situation permits.

STU president Adam Prakash Abdullah said these students have not been in school for the past year and badly need the guidance of their teachers to do well in their examinations.

“STU has no qualms about the Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin’s announcement on home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) for all schools for two weeks after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri school break.

“We understand the reasons behind the closing of schools is to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission that could happen outside school during the festive season,” he said when contacted today.

He said STU is still not in favour of PdPR over the long term as many rural and less fortunate students may not have access to the internet and might not even own the necessary tools for learning.

“So we hope that there will be a kind of arrangement for the 2021 SPM and STPM students so that most of them could be in school to attend face to face interaction with their teachers as soon as possible when the situation permits,” he said.

He pointed out teachers also have to spend extra on internet access for themselves and some of their students as well as for printed notes and lesson activities for students.

Adam added students in other levels could stay home as suggested as that might help to break the Covid-19 chain of infection.

STU understands the fears and worries faced by students and teachers and the short break could help ease the stress, he said.

“STU hopes that the relevant authorities, parents, and the community at large all contribute to the children’s learning by providing the necessary assistance to help make the PdPR more effective and bearable,” he said.

On Monday, Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that PdPR for all schools would be conducted for two weeks after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri school break.

The PdPR will be from May 16-27 for Group A schools (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu) and from May 17-28 for Group B schools (Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya).

Radzi said the decision was made to avoid the risk of Covid-19 infections in schools after the school holidays to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri from May 7-15 for group A schools and May 8-16 for group B schools.

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