top of page
We call on the government to immediately:
1
Recognize schools as essential, and teachers as frontliners.
Schools should be rightfully valued and considered essential to the functioning of society. Reopening schools should be independent of the parameters of the National Recovery Plan and should not depend on daily case numbers, ICU utilization, and vaccination rates. Teachers
and all school staff (e.g. cleaners, clerks, bus drivers, and canteen operators) should be considered frontliners and given priority for vaccination.
2
Prioritize our most vulnerable.
Younger children, children with special needs, and children who are low-income or located in the most remote areas are disproportionately affected by closures and least able to benefit from online learning. Plans for reopening should restore face-to-face learning for these groups first. In reopening, schools that are under-resourced should be prioritized for support for the implementation of SOPs, so that reopening does not widen inequity. Where full reopening is not yet possible, utilize creative options such as rotational models, allowing most severely disadvantaged children to return (e.g. most severely disabled, most dependent on food programmes, or those completely lacking Internet connectivity).
3
Begin immediate phased reopening.
While a blanket reopening of schools may not be immediately feasible, a blanket closure is not the only other option. Many schools can easily and safely be allowed to reopen now. Examples of this include schools in Perlis where case numbers are close to zero), the nearly 3,000 Sekolah Kurang Murid schools (with fewer than 150 students and very small class sizes), certain schools in extremely remote areas where all students come from the same community (indicating a “safe bubble”), as well the private nurseries, kindergartens, and schools which can enforce a high standard of SOPs.
4
Decentralize decision making.
Parents need the freedom to choose what is best for their families. While we must allow parents to keep their children at home if they prefer, similarly the choice to send children to school must not be taken away. Allow the decisions on school closures to be made by individual schools and their parent communities, in consultation with District Health and Education officials. Specific school premises should be assessed on their potential risk of transmission and allowed to reopen in accordance with the implementation of suitable risk-mitigating measures.
5
Use scientific evidence, global best practice, and reliable information.
Develop a School Reopening Plan that is centered around the evidence as well as global best practices, utilizing the expertise of leading practitioners in the fields of education and health, some of whom have already developed detailed recommendations as individuals or organizations. This plan should also address the large and unequally distributed learning losses already sustained. Develop clear SOPs based on evidence and best practice and prioritize resources and/or reallocate budgets where necessary to implement them. The government should collect and publish relevant public health and education data on children to guide policies and inform the public.
bottom of page