GEORGE TOWN: Hand sanitisers, wet wipes, face masks and disposable cutlery are now among the must-have items for schoolchildren in the new school term.

       Besides new uniforms, socks and shoes, parents have stocked up on the above items as preventive measures against Covid-19.

       Technical writer Louis Yong, 47, said his eight-year-old son Gilbert had been preparing to go back to school since last week.

       “He is so eager to go to school again and tells us what he needs for the new school term,” he said.

       His son only needed new shoes and can still wear his uniforms bought last year.

       He said the teacher had advised them to bring hand sanitisers, extra face masks and cutlery to school.

       Although he was confident in standard operating procedure at school, Yong still advised his son to be wary of his surroundings while at school.

       Engineer Marlina Idris Khan, 35, said her daughter Nur Izzara Damia Mohd Ramsyah, seven, had been preparing for school at SK Bertam Perdana, which starts today.

       “Face masks and hand sanitisers are a must. The school also instructed the children to bring their own forks and spoons,” she said.

       She said she prepared disposable eating utensils for her daughter and reminded her to stay away from crowded areas at school.

       “I also told her not to share her stationery items with others,” she said, adding that her son also attend the same school and another daughter in a kindergarten.

       Clerk Sharifah Melati Syed Idrus, 36, said her son Muhammad Waiz Haikal Zaheree, eight, and Muhamad Wafi Hakimi, nine, were excited about starting school.

       “They’ve been reminding me they need extra face masks and hand sanitisers,” she said.

       Sharifah Melati praised the school for having thorough guidelines for the new term for parents to prepare their kids to go to school.

       Meanwhile, at Mutiara Perdana Flats in Bayan Lepas, about 30 school children got free haircuts, organised by Mutiara Perdana Village Community Management Council yesterday.

       Its chairman, Rus Nizam Yusof, said the programme was done annually for the community’s kids, and before the pandemic, more children would show up to have their hair trimmed before school started.

       Last year, Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin said the 2021 school term would be extended until last month.

       The year-end break, which usually begins in November, was initially pushed to Dec 10 and then delayed further due to the spread of Covid-19.

       Under the current school year format, enrolment of Year One pupils for 2022 would only take place in March, and the school term this year would be known as the 2022/23 session.