STUDENTS will have to pay for the entire month’s bus fare even though they are attending classes for only half the month, according to the Federation of Malaysian School Bus Operators Association president, reports China Press.

       Its president Amali Munif Rahmat said that operators will have to bear the same cost of running a business even though the number of bus trips a student takes has reduced.

       No discounts will be given, he said.

       “School buses are not like public buses where you get off at a point in its designated route.

       “A bus driver will have to memorise each child’s face, the school they go to, the home address and the time classes end.

       “They even have to be concerned about a series of safety measures. We hope parents will understand that our fares are reasonable,” Amali said.

       He expects that there will be a fall in the number of students taking the school bus due to the pandemic.

       He added that an operator would need at least 70% of its capacity filled in order to break even.

       Amali said he hoped schools would make arrangements to prevent parents from gathering outside schools to pick up their children,

       “Even though the restrictions on movement have been relaxed, I hope that (school bus) operators will ensure that everyone remains healthy and safe with the reopening of business,” he said.

       > Educationist group United Chinese School Teachers’ Association (Jiao Zong) urged the government to carry out periodic Covid-19 testing at schools to ensure the safety of teachers and students when classes resume next month, reports Sin Chew Daily.

       Its president Cheah Lek Aee told the daily that pupils below age 12 have not been vaccinated and were at risk of catching Covid-19.

       To prevent new outbreaks at schools, Cheah urged the government to conduct periodic testing to put everyone at ease.

       “The government would need to be confident that they will be able to handle unexpected outbreaks in school, as well as ensure the safety of both teachers and students before classes can resume,” he said.

       Similarly, National Union of Heads of Schools president Lim Bee Khim urged the ministry to have special allocations so that they are able to purchase their own RTK-Antigen rapid Covid-19 tests.

       Lim, who is the headmaster of SJK(C) Taman Connaught, added that the test can be administered to students who feel ill at school to reduce the risk of outbreaks.

       ● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.