BACHOK: Managing school operations during the COVID-19 pandemic would not be smooth if there was no cooperation by all parties, said Senior Minister of Education Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.

He said, without the commitment and efficiency of Ministry of Education (MOE) management and educators, it would be quite impossible for him to lead in carrying out the responsibility.

"I am thankful to Allah because I have an MOE management team and educators who always give their best commitment to ensure the country's education system continues to run smoothly.

"We went through a very difficult period during the COVID-19 pandemic as it was unprecedented and we had to redesign the education system by issuing standard operating procedures (SOP) guidebooks for compliance," he said.

He said this while speaking at the launching ceremony of the 2022 51st National Teachers' Day Celebration at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), here today.


Commenting further, Radzi said he was touched by the sacrifice of teachers who had worked hard to understand every detail of the guidelines issued by the ministry to ensure a smooth learning process for students.

"Alhamdulillah, all the guidelines given were implemented as best as possible, such as having to wait in front of the gate to check the temperature and health of students, teaching online, complying with rotation system and so on. Thank you to all the teachers," he said.

Radzi said even though, the education system faced great challenges during the period, the ministry managed to resolve 87 per cent of the 18,702 outstanding teacher vacancies.

"The remaining 13 per cent will be filled in stages as the ministry is facing a shortage of teachers especially involving critical subjects such as English and Visual Arts Education," he said.

-- BERNAMA