JOHOR BARU: Some parents here are prepared to send their children back to school, hoping that this would bring a sense of normalcy back into the lives of their young ones.

       Businesswoman Chua Kim Song said that her children had been cooped up at home for far too long and were looking forward to meeting their friends again.

       “As a parent, I am definitely worried about their safety but we do not have any other choice as we can’t have them learning from home for too long.

       “While online learning is a good temporary alternative, it can’t replace physical classroom learning where students can interact with teachers face-to-face,” she said.

       Chua, 44, said she prepared hand sanitisers for her children to bring to school besides keeping aside some Covid-19 self-test kits at home as preparation.

       “I hope that teachers would be able to help us keep our children safe in school.

       “Most importantly, I hope that unvaccinated teachers would not be allowed to come close to my children, especially my youngest son who has yet to be vaccinated,” she said, adding that her 16-year-old son is fully vaccinated.

       Meanwhile, mother of three, Wolni Jungin, 37, said she hoped that her children would once again be motivated to study when they were back in school.

       “I find it difficult for my children to concentrate on their studies when they are at home. They tend to get distracted easily.

       “On top of that, the slow Internet connection at home has also made it difficult for them to follow the flow of their classes online.

       “At times, they can’t even join those virtual classes due to the connectivity,” she said.

       She added that apart from her children, who are between aged between six and 10, her nephews, who are also under her care, were also returning to school next month.

       However, management assistant Nurul Aisha Mohd Yusoff, 34, said that she decided to send her eight-year-old daughter back to school only next year.

       “My daughter has asthma and I am worried about the risk she will be exposed to if she goes back to school now, when the number of Covid-19 cases are still relatively high,” Nurul Aisha said.

       “On top of that, school would only open for about five weeks before the year-end holidays and I believe it would make more sense for me to send her to school next year instead,” she added.

       On Sunday, the Education Ministry announced that the educational institutions in Johor and Terengganu would resume operations in stages from Nov 7.