Extra school holidays ‘disruptive’

PETALING JAYA: Extending the school holidays due to heatwave would disrupt the teaching and learning process of the students, say groups.

SMK Cochrane Parent Teacher Association (PTA) chairman Faizal Mohammad Arshad said the plan to extend the school holidays must be studied comprehensively to avoid any burden on both teachers and students.

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He said instead of school closure, the Education Ministry should ban all outdoor activities that could expose students to extreme heat.

“We need to carefully study the proposal to close schools following the heatwave. The ministry should monitor and ensure that schools do not hold outdoor activities or reduce them,” he said.

Faizal, who is also SMK (P) Bandaraya PTA chairman, said school closure would only add more burden on teachers as they would have to cover all syllabus within a short period of time after school reopens.

“If it is necessary to close schools due to extreme temperature, online learning can be done like during the pandemic,” he said.

Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin agreed, saying that school closure would not entirely solve the problem.

“Though the heatwave is worrying, closing schools is not a better solution. Not only will it disrupt lessons, we would not be able to educate our kids of the measures to protect themselves (when outdoors),” he said.

Citing medical experts’ advice, Mak said schoolchildren must always be reminded to stay hydrated and not go out under the hot sun for long hours.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Cabinet would discuss whether there was a need to extend the school holidays amid the current heatwave.

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He said the National Disaster Management Committee secretariat had already met and implemented coordinated efforts with various ministries and agencies.

The Malaysian Kindergarten Teachers Association however, agreed with the proposal to extend school holidays as most schools are not well-equipped with cooling facilities to help control the temperature.

In a joint statement, its president Sally Ng and advisor Dr Jeremy Kung said it was especially important for public schools that are mostly not equipped with air conditioning.

“We opine this extension should only apply to public schools but there cannot be a two-fold educational pursuit running.

“For example, some schools are open while some are on holiday. On that account, school holidays should be extended,” they said.

However, Ng and Kung said kindergarten operators have always been providing conducive and safe environments for their pupils, so closing is unnecessary as parents require the service.

According to an Education Ministry’s circular dated Friday sighted by The Star, the ministry has provided a guideline on school closure during the hot season.

The guideline entails that each school management needed to monitor daily temperature at their respective districts according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).

Should the temperature exceed 35 to 37°C for three consecutive days, the administrations must suspend all outdoor activities such as sports and marching.

School will be closed when MetMalaysia announces a heatwave with temperature exceeding 37°C for three straight days.