KOTA KINABALU: A total of 290 teachers out of more than 40,000 teachers in Sabah have yet to get vaccinated against Covid-19 before schools reopen next month, says Datuk Mohamad Alamin.

       The Deputy Education Minister II said the state Education Department should take steps to contact the teachers and ask them to get vaccinated immediately, in line with the directive.

       "As of Friday (Sept 24), we have received reports that 290 teachers in Sabah have not been vaccinated. I've asked the state Education Department to contact them and discuss the matter with them," he said.

       He said it was important for all teachers involved in teaching in classrooms to be vaccinated and it was the Education Ministry's condition set for teachers involved in face-to-face teaching for schools beginning to reopen in stages next month.

       "It is important for these teachers to be vaccinated because we have issued guidelines that any teacher who is not vaccinated cannot come to school to teach face to face," he said, after inspecting the vaccination process for students at SK Malawa in Telipok near here Saturday (Sept 25).

       Mohamad said teachers who have not been vaccinated should come forward to cooperate and comply with the instructions of the Education Ministry to allay the concerns of parents.

       "Parents are also expecting all teachers to be vaccinated," he added.

       Meanwhile, on the vaccination implemented in schools in the state, Mohamad said 91 schools throughout the state were made vaccination centres for the group.

       As of Friday, he said about 162,000 out of 368,000 adolescents eligible for vaccination in Sabah, have received the Covid-19 jabs.

       "Response in Sabah has been good," he said, adding that about 600,000 teenagers have been vaccinated nationwide as of Friday.