KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin today announced that schools are set to reopen from October 3 with 50 per cent capacity in classrooms.
However, he said schools in states still under Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) will remain closed.
As for Phase 2, special needs schools can reopen as well as examination classes like Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), pre-university and sports schools can reopen but also at 50 per cent capacity.
Radzi said the main issue is to ensure attendance at any one time is only at 50 per cent of the entire school’s enrolment.
“The students will take turns attending school. We will split classes into two groups. We will do this for all classes so that on the whole only 50 per cent will be in school at any given time.
“For example, we have Group A who attend classes physically while Group B will study from home for one week. The following week, Group B will come to class while Group A will study from home,” he said during a press conference today.
“This way we can reduce the numbers at any given time.
“As for students with exams like A- and O-levels, SPM and STPM, they can attend classes without having to take turns so they can prepare for their exams,” he said.
The new school year will open on October 3 and last until December 9, 2021, after which students will progress onto the next academic year in March 2022.
The three-month holiday from January to March 2022 will be for the ministry to evaluate the proficiency level of students based on their examination results.
Radzi went on to explain the details for school reopening in various states based on the level of recovery, which can be found here.
He also said all hostels must conduct Covid-19 self tests on all occupants on the day of enrolment, followed by two more on the sixth and 14th day respectively. He also said school authorities must ensure living areas are well ventilated.
*Note: A previous edition of the story contained an error which has since been corrected.
