KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — The government will postpone reopening schools until the situation is safer and the Covid-19 outbreak is under control, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today.

Addressing parents’ concern of their children’s education as the movement control order (MCO) is extended again, Muhyiddin said he has directed the Ministry of Education to implement home-based learning during the partial lockdown.

"So, the school may not open early. We might postpone the school session until we are really sure things had recovered.

"Meanwhile, our children need to study at home. I have asked the Ministry of Education to implement home-based learning initiatives throughout the duration of this movement control, and possibly beyond it until the school opens,” he said in a special address.

Muhyiddin today announced that the MCO has been extended for another two weeks until April 28.

Malaysian pupils have been on an extended school holiday since March 14.

Last week, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin had announced that his ministry will take the approach of introducing television-based learning sessions through RTM’s youth-centric channel, TV Okey.

He said the TV-based learning programmes will offer a series of practice sessions for students facing public examinations this year, particularly those without Internet access.

Mohd Radzi, who is also a senior minister, said although the ministry had before this issued guidelines, teachers have been given some leeway to adopt what they think is the best approach to be used during the MCO.

Mohd Radzi said as the MCO is unprecedented, the ministry had conducted a survey since March 28 on what were the devices or gadgets used by students at home.