Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
A QUARTER of independent Chinese schools have been notified that students taking the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC) this year will be given priority for Covid-19 vaccinations, reported Sin Chew Daily.This comes after the government’s decision to inoculate students sitting for the next Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia examinations.
United Chinese School Committees’ Association chairman Tan Tai Kim confirmed that 16 out of 63 such Chinese schools in the country have been informed by the Education Ministry that those sitting for the UEC this year will get their jabs soon.
Tan added that the teachers involved have also been given priority, with Sabah leading the way with 99 (38.98%) of its teachers having received both vaccine doses already.
Statistics collected by the educationist group show that Sarawak is a close second, with 112 (26.54%) of its teachers having had both jabs.
Tan thanked Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon for voicing their concerns with the government, which led to both students and teachers being given priority in getting vaccinated.
“We hope the ministry will be able to speed up the programme for teachers and students from private institutions so that the risk of infections can be lowered,” he added.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.