Radzi: Schools pose lower risk factors due to the strict SOPs in place.
AT a time when false information, unverified news and speculation are rife, decisions – especially those that involve the health and well-being of our children – must be rationally made based on facts and figures.
Data-driven decisions are crucial now more than ever to prevent panic and to ensure that no student is left behind in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
An in-depth analysis of the Health Ministry’s data, said Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin, shows that it is safe for parents to send their children to school.
While nationwide home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) will be carried out for two weeks following the Hari Raya Aidilfitri school break as a preventive measure, there is no need for a blanket closure of schools based on the data analysis conducted between Jan 1 and April 25 this year.
In acknowledging the growing concern among parents and calls for schools to close, Radzi said it was important to view things in perspective – only a total of 2,274 cases (see infographics below) were recorded in some 10,000 schools, boarding schools, matriculation colleges and Teacher Training Institutes under the Education Ministry’s (MoE) purview.
“We are not perfect but we are trying our best to ensure that our students get to attend school safely and follow their lessons well, while keeping the virus transmission rate and risk low.
“When there is been a Covid-19 case in a class, the school is able to minimise the transmission rate due to the existing standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“Compliance to SOPs are helpful in reducing the transmission rate. There are cases (due to) a breach of SOPs but the cases aren’t many, ” he said during a press conference on Monday.
Education-related clusters are few compared to the overall number of cases linked to clusters, he said.
This, he added, shows that chances of students, teachers and school staff getting infected outside of school is higher.
According to current data, the possibility of students being exposed to the virus in schools is lower compared to them being out in the community as there are stricter SOPs in schools.
Schools, he added, pose lower risk factors.
“Students even eat in their classrooms and are not allowed to move from their seats. The environment is very controlled.”
The ministry’s main concern, however, are boarding schools which pose a higher risk.The are a total of 253,659 boarding school students in the country.
The ministry, Radzi said, will continue monitoring and ensuring that the SOPs in boarding schools are improved.
“We want to do the right thing based on the data and information we have.
“I am okay (to receive negative feedback about me) as long as we make the best decisions possible based on the latest data available, ” he said.
The ministry has been hands-on in handing issues, he said, stressing on the need for meticulous planning during a “war”.
Whether an entire school needs to be closed, or just the affected classroom, building or floor, is decided based on the district health office’s (PKD) advice.
“Many think that the ministry is not being transparent about schools with Covid-19 cases closing although we have mentioned that decisions are made based on a risk analysis (by PKD). We leave it to the professionals because we trust that the PKD’s advice is accurate, ” he added.
If parents are not convinced and feel it is unsafe to send their children to school, they can write to the school explaining their reasons. The child will not be penalised, Radzi said.
The requirement for an official notification, he explained, was to allow the ministry to monitor the situation and collect data to minimise the student dropout rate. Students’ average attendance rate since March has been at 90.26% (see infographics).
“The attendance lately shows an average of 80.53%. So generally speaking, school attendance is the same as it was prior to the Covid-19 outbreak where the average attendance was at 85%.
“When we speak to teachers, we find that students are excited to attend school and teachers, too, can better gauge the level of understanding among students, ” he said, adding that based on the ministry’s observation, most parents want to send their children to school. To reduce the number of students present in school at any given time, schools with a large population have either split their school session to two or carried out a rotational model to ensure social distancing.
Over 90 schools have implemented the rotational model nationwide to comply with the SOPs, he continued, adding that in some schools, parents are very involved in helping with after-school SOPs and drive-through pickups to ensure smooth dispersal of students.
