Sin Chew Daily

Following gradual containment of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the government has decided to implement the recovery MCO and relax further the restrictions. Schools are ready to welcome back their students soon.

Senior minister for education Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that SPM, SVM, STPM, STAM and other equivalent international examination candidates will be back to school on June 24 (Wednesday).

At the same time, Dong Zong announced that independent Chinese high school Form IV and Form V students will be the first to return to their schools on June 24.

Schools in Malaysia have remained closed for three months as a result of the pandemic. Having to stay at home, students' academic progress will invariably be affected. Although online learning has been practiced at some schools, due to factors like equipment and internet speed, the effects are limited.

Additionally, even if the aforementioned problems are solved, online learning is never the most optimal learning platform for primary and secondary school students.

By comparison, students can learn more attentively and effectively in a physical classroom while the teacher can have real-time observation of the student's reactions and make the necessary adjustments to the pace of teaching to enhance the effects of disseminating knowledge to the students,

We cannot deny that online learning indeed has the ability to overcome the space constraints and is more convenient, but this should only be employed as an expedient plan and students should still go back to school if the circumstances allow.

The safety of students is of utmost importance when they get back to school.

The education ministry has released a set of guidelines on reopening of schools that must be strictly adhered to by school authorities as well as the teachers, while cooperation from parents is essential to minimize their children's risk of getting infected.

According to the guidelines, students' desks must be at least one meter apart and a classroom should accommodate not more than 20students at one time.

This should not be a big issue if only some of the students are allowed back to school first, but problems will arise when other students begin to go back to school in stages, and availability of classrooms, space and teachers will pose a severe challenge.

Chinese primary schools in urban areas, in particular, have been known to be packed to the seams and it is therefore impossible to find additional space to accommodate social distancing.

Moreover, even if space is sufficient, with fewer students allowed in each classroom, there will be increased demand for teachers, which will be a big problem.

It is imperative that education ministry and school authorities sit down and talk about such problems as early as possible and draw up appropriate solutions in order to take care of the students' academic progress as well as their safety.

Schools will reopen soon and the pace of learning has to be adjusted under the new normal. The authorities must be adequately prepared to accord the students a safe environment to learn in the classroom.

Malaysian schools have remained hushed for so long. It is everyone's wish that they will very soon be filled with the sounds of students reading out loud from their textbooks once again.