JOHOR BARU: Schoolchildren in Johor have made their long-awaited return to physical classes for the first time in four months.

       Checks at SK Angkatan Tentera here found many parents busy sending their children to school as early as 6.45am yesterday.

       Students in Years 1 to 3 and Forms 3 and 4 can attend face-to-face lessons.

       The children were seen wearing face masks and some even took the extra precaution of wearing face shields. They were greeted by teachers who also provided students with extra face masks.

       The teachers scanned students’ body temperatures before allowing them to go to their classrooms.

       Trader Ishak Mohd Elah, 43, said he was nervous and felt a bit worried about sending his nine-year-old son, Danish Daniel Ishak, back to school as the Covid-19 threat was still present.

       “However, the school is well prepared, with guidelines and the standard operating procedure to curb the spread of the pandemic on school premises addressing my concerns.

       “My son is in high spirits about going back to school, and he woke up very early in the morning to bathe and put on his school uniform,” he said, adding that he reminded his son to wear his face mask and keep proper distancing.

       Businesswoman Raden Siti Nur Shuhadah Naharudin, 30, said even though she was worried about her two sons – Harris Hayden Ibrahim, eight, and Emmel Rayqal Ibrahim, seven – she is nonetheless glad that both of them were going back to school again.

       She argued that home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) was not a very effective method.

       “There are many obstacles in using PdPR, especially for working parents, but I am grateful that my sons can return to their classrooms again under the rotation method,” she added.

       Clerk Nurul Azura Misran, 41, said that her son, six-year-old Reezuan Fikri Al-Imran, was looking forward to seeing his friends once more.

       “I am still worried, but any parent will agree that our children’s education is very important, and hopefully, there would not be any further disruptions to their lessons in school,” she said.

       Johor education, information, heritage and culture committee chairman Mazlan Bujang said that schools in Johor recorded more than 95% attendance among students.

       “This is an encouraging number as we did not expect to get a high attendance because there is no compulsion for parents to send their children back to school.

       “The Education Ministry has set a rotation method where 50% of students of each class can return for face-to-face lessons while the other half continues with PdPR under the National Recovery Plan,” he added.