JOHOR BARU: Parents are now relieved that their children can attend preschools in the state.

       Housewife Fazliana Abu Bakar, 33, said that she made early preparations for her six-year-old son’s safe return to kindergarten, which include providing him with hand sanitisers and extra face masks.

       Her son attended normal classes only for a short time earlier this year.

       “He’s excited to be able to meet his friends again. He slept early the night before to make sure that he could get up early in the morning.

       “I reminded him to sanitise and wash his hands regularly in class,” she said, adding that she got him an influenza shot as a precaution as the Covid-19 vaccine is not available for children yet.

       Mohd Syaiful Mohd Noh, 36, is also happy that his five-year-old daughter would now have a conducive learning environment.

       “Although she can still study at home, the experience is different from being in the kindergarten, where she can learn together with other children. The teachers are also more capable than us parents when it comes to teaching our young children,” he added.

       Mohd Syaiful, who works as a labourer, also said sending his daughter to class was a great relief as both he and his wife, who is a nurse, are working.

       “It’s difficult for us; it takes time to teach our daughter at home.”

       Preschool teacher Nurul Shahera Mohd Izam Shah, 26, said that the first day of class went well without problems, adding that almost half of the children registered at the school attended classes.

       She added previously, only children of frontliners could attend kindergarten before the preschool opened for all children yesterday.

       “Since the first day of school falls on a Sunday, some parents opted to have their children stay at home for the weekend first,” she said.

       However, some parents are taking the ‘wait-and-see’ approach before deciding to send their children back to school.

       Lee Wee Ping, 37, decided not to send his six-year-old daughter to school as he is worried about her safety.

       “Although I want her to be able to have a normal learning experience again, I’m still worried. I think it’s best for her to remain at home for the time being. We will see how things go in the next few weeks before we decide to send her back to school,” said Lee.

       Housewife Stephanie Siew, 32, has also decided not to send her five-year-old son back to kindergarten. “Safety comes first for us,” she said, adding she may send her child to school next year.

       it’s best that we send him back to school next year when the Covid-19 cases go down,” she said.

       “He is used to studying from home and I have been able to work out a timetable with my husband to teach our daughter.

       “Safety comes first for us and I think it’s best that we only send her back to school next year when the Covid-19 cases go down,” she said.

       On Saturday, Gabungan Taska dan Tadika Malaysia coordinator Roszlinda Sham said that preschools that have received the green light to reopen their doors could do so from yesterday.

       She added kindergarten operators needed to send their requests to either the state education department or the welfare department for nursery schools, in order to reopen their facilities.

       Roszlinda said about 90% of the preschools have submitted their applications. However, only about 30% have been given the go-ahead to open their centres as not all teachers have been fully vaccinated.