Disciplinary action will be taken against teachers who refuse Covid-19 vaccination

KUALA LUMPUR: Disciplinary action will be taken against teachers who refuse to be vaccinated before the Nov 1 deadline set by the Public Services Department (PSD) for all civil servants to be fully inoculated, says Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon.

He said all teachers must abide by the PSD circular which is clear on the deadline and possible penalties.

"Action will be taken against these teachers to ensure that the teaching and learning process of students isn't affected," he said in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 5) during Question Time.

He was responding to Datuk Mohd Salim Shariff (BN-Jempol), who asked if the Education Ministry would take disciplinary action against teachers who refused to be vaccinated, citing the recent PSD circular.

The circular also stated that those who could not be vaccinated due to health complications must submit a medical report, verified by a government medical officer, to their department heads.

Elaborating, Mah said teachers who were not yet vaccinated must do so at walk-in vaccination centres.

Earlier, he told the House that as of Oct 4 (Monday), 388,897 teachers had been fully vaccinated.

"The Education Ministry is always working closely with the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) to ensure that vaccination rates among teachers and students can be improved," he said in response to Chang Lih Kang (PH-Tanjong Malim), who asked about the latest vaccination rate of teachers.

Schools started reopening in stages from Sunday (Oct 3), beginning with exam year students.

Students from Terengganu, Kelantan and Langkawi in Kedah resumed face-to-face lessons in schools on Sunday.

A further 94,000 students in other states except Kedah and Johor returned to school on Monday (Oct 4).

Parents have the option not to send their children to school.

The Education Ministry has announced a rotation system under which only half the students attend school physically while the rest remain online.