KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of the Teaching Profession stands with the government over its decision to delay the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia exams to the first quarter of next year.
Its secretary-general, Harry Tan, weighed in on the scheduling crisis looming as two batches of candidates would sit the exams next year.
"Many teachers are unaware of the severity of Covid-19. We are at war even though they have never seen a war in this form.
"The general assumption is that after the MCO, everything goes back to normal, but that will not be the case. Instead, it will be a new lifestyle altogether," he told the New Straits Times.
He said as the situation was unprecedented, no one could be certain as to when things could go back to the way they were.
As teachers concerned themselves with the day-to-day planning for the convenience of lessons, Tan said the larger issue would be students' safety.
On whether the Education Ministry had given assurances to teachers and students that they would not have to bear the brunt of delay in the exams, Tan, referring to the situation during the Japanese Occupation said: "Education takes a backseat during war. As in any war, the safety of our citizens is paramount.
"As long as we do not know when this war will end, no one can plan anything.
"Hence, whatever the ministry is doing, we will totally support as they, like us, are concerned about the safety of students."
However, he said, there were complaints from teachers on the scheduling.
Several teachers had told the NST that a scheduling nightmare was looming ahead for teachers who would be forced to invigilate, mark and teach two batches of SPM and STPM candidates.
The fact that the 2020 batch will take their exams in the first quarter of next year means classes for the 2021 batch might have to take a back seat.
Lessons for the 2021 batch in the first six months of the year would also be interrupted by multiple breaks, including Chinese New Year, the semester break and Hari Raya holidays.
A teacher who declined to be named said the lesson plans that teachers made for next year had gone down the drain.
"It will be tough to have two sets of Form 5 students going into school and this will constrain teachers while eating into already limited resources such as space and textbooks given on loan."
A recently retired teacher who declined to be named said the ministry should push back the examinations by a month or so from its original dates instead of the first quarter of next year.
"This will have major repercussions on timetables, schedules, space and teacher availability for invigilation, marking of exam scripts and teaching duties for that new academic year."
She conceded that while her former colleagues were putting in many hours to connect to students through the Zoom and Google Classroom applications, some students did not have access to the Internet and many need personal attention from teachers due to many factors.
"But, all of this can be addressed as soon as school reopens with intensive classes and focused teaching."