KULAI: The Education Ministry has given primary and secondary schools the option to have home-based learning and teaching (PdPR) sessions if Covid-19 cases rise drastically.Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the ministry was now focusing on students sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations.
“We are giving that option to primary and secondary schools. Forms 1 to 4 students need not attend physical classes.
“They can have PdPR sessions and primary schools can also apply for PdPR sessions if there is a risk of Covid-19 spreading.
“We are always flexible about this and carry out risk assessments from time to time,” he told Bernama after a working visit to SMK Bandar Putra 2 here yesterday.
Mohamad was commenting on actions to be taken by his ministry following a recent spike in cases.
He said the ministry had provided guidelines on the standard operating procedure (SOP) for schools on how to deal with the situation in the event of infections.
“The guidelines are already there. The Health Ministry and district health offices are always there to assist the Education Ministry, and should there be cases, we report them and they will carry out risk assessments.
“If it involves hostels, the Health Ministry will determine if the premises needs to be shut down. If cases are too high, we will close them (hostels), and if they aren’t, we will take measures to minimise the risk of the disease spreading further,” he added.
Mohamad also said his ministry would be deciding soon on the implementation of the Form 3 Assessment (PT3) exams for the 2022 session.
“We are still discussing the matter. I believe the Minister (Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin) will be making an announcement on it soon,” he said.
Recently, National Union of Teaching Profession president Aminuddin Awang urged the Education Ministry to postpone or shelve the PT3 exams on grounds that Form 3 students have not been attending regular classes due to the pandemic.