Covid-19: Gov't to wait for Education Ministry report on cluster spike, says PM

KOTA BHARU: Any decision on school sessions will be made after a report on the increase in education clusters is obtained by the pro-tem committee, says

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said that the Education Ministry had been asked to submit a report on the sharp increase in education clusters to the pro-tem committee chaired by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

"If we are to close the schools, parents will be worried about the future of their children because online learning is not fully accessed by everyone," said Ismail Sabri.

"Several changes have been made by the MOE and the issue here is the sharp increase in cases. I have asked the Education Ministry to submit the report to the pro-tem committee. In terms of the decision, we will wait for the pro-tem committee to discuss the report,” he added

He said this at a press conference after attending a special meeting with members of the state Umno Political Bureau at the Kelantan Umno Building here on Saturday (Jan 22).

A total of 70% or 62 out of the 89 new clusters reported by the Health Ministry for the period of Jan 15 to Friday (Jan 21) involved educational institutions.

The highest number of education clusters was reported on Wednesday (Jan 19) with 16 out of 20 new clusters detected involving educational institutions.

On Friday 11 out of the 12 clusters reported by the Health Ministry were education clusters; two each in Kelantan, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Pahang, while one was recorded in Johor.

A total of 11 education clusters were also reported on Tuesday (Jan 18) and another 11 were recorded on Jan 20. - Bernama