IPOH: When the country's schools will reopen, will be announced tomorrow, Deputy Education Minister II Muslimin Yahaya said.
The decision — which will affect 398,446 students — will be discussed in a meeting today between the Health and Education Ministries as well as the National Security Council in Putrajaya.
"We will decide when to reopen schools at the meeting today. Another important announcement (date of reopening) will be made tomorrow," he said.
Muslimin told reporters after visiting Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Raja Permaisuri Bainun in Kampung Dato' Ahmad Said Tambahan 3 here, today.
He added for the initial phase, the reopening would involve 347,177 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students, 2,935 Malaysian Vocational Certificate (SVM) students, 2,738 Malaysian Higher Islamic Religious Certificate (STAM) students and 45,596 Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysian (STPM) students.
"Only classes for top-tier school examinations will be prioritised upon the reopening of schools to ensure the safety of students," he said, adding that the ministry is satisfied with the simulation conducted at selected schools in Selangor and Putrajaya on May 8.
On June 3, it was reported that the Health Ministry is confident that the outlined standard operating procedures (SOPs) for reopening of schools are adequate to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that although the guidelines had been finalised, it could be changed from time to time.
Asked whether the reopening of schools would only involve Form Five and Form Six teachers, Muslimin said all teachers are required to return to school to assist each other.
"They will help Form Five and Form Six teachers during learning and teaching. We have to break the classes based on the number students. Each class will only have between 16 and 20 pupils.
"Once this is implemented, we need more teachers to assist each other. We need to ensure that learning and teaching will go smoothly," he said.