Schools should open as planned

THERE have been calls not to open schools when the new school terms begins on Jan 20 for fear of escalating the surge in cases, which has been rising steadily since the beginning of the year.

Some parents and educators have expressed fear and worry about their children’s safety in school.

Many want the online learning platforms to be the mode of teaching and learning for the school children.

It has been almost a whole year since the normal schooling has been interrupted due to the pandemic.

Last year schools were opened for a few weeks with strict social distancing and standard operating procedures (SOP) before schools closed due to the second wave of Covid-19.

Large classes of children were reduced to smaller classes to suit the SOP requirements.

Students were not allowed to gather in large numbers in the school premises and their food had to be delivered to the classrooms from the school canteens.

There was a lot of inconveniences for teachers and children but safety was of utmost concern.

Everything was going as planned until we faced the second wave and schools had to be closed again.

Schools had a long layoff and though there was learning and teaching online, it posed some teething problems in terms of connectivity and lack of appropriate learning electronic devices.

They should open as planned for the new school term as they have been directed to follow the SOP and social distancing for the safety of teachers and students.

Preparations have been done and a lot of work has been put in to resume teaching and learning.

Children are prepared to go to school for the new school term.

We need to adapt and adopt to the new norms of living with the pandemic. The new norms should be embraced as the accepted norms in fighting the pandemic.

The infections and numbers will not be going down due to the many people flouting the SOP and not following social distancing.

Children miss school, and their friends and teachers. Online virtual learning cannot take the place of actual classroom interaction.

Headteachers and teachers need to prepare their schools for the new term.

They have done it once and it can be done again to meet the challenges of the pandemic.

Any further lapse in schooling will only result in children lagging behind in their studies.

There are major examinations and school-based evaluations that need to be done which cannot done online.

It is going to be an uphill task for teachers to be able to go to the classroom and begin teaching in front of the classroom after a long break.

Teachers too, need to get back into action and as they say when the going gets tough the tough get going.

And children are going to have difficult time giving their full attention to the teacher after being on their own, free and easy for a long time.

There will be concentration and attention span problems that teachers need to address among children.

We need to start schools to get the momentum going so that things can resume back to the new normal.

There is a fear of complacency staying home and not wanting to go to school.

Some head teachers complained that some teachers who were asked to report to school were not happy returning to work.

The work from home syndrome has led some to be in a comfort zone and they do not want to venture out of the house. They have grown to love their homes.

It is not going to be easy to break out of this kind of mold and attachment.

The Education Ministry needs to open the schools as planned with strict SOP and social distancing.

Students need to be prepared for examinations and other school-based activities which cannot be done online.

Samuel Yesuiah

Seremban