Schools nationwide to close from tomorrow

Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin said for schools in Kedah, Johor, Kelantan and Terengganu, the last day of school is on Dec 17, while in other states, it is Dec 18.

He said the decision to close the schools was taken following implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in all states in the peninsula, except Kelantan, Pahang and Perlis , effective tomorrow until Dec 6.

“The move is taken to assist efforts by the government to break the chain of the COVID-19 infection.

“In accordance with the school academic calender for 2021 that was announced earlier, the school term will start on Jan 20, 2021. All primary school students will start the face to face learning on that date," he told a press conference here today.

Radzi said students in Form One, Form Four, Five and Form Six, as well as those in vocational colleges, will also begin face-to-face learning on the same date.

As for students in Form Two and Form Three, there school session for next year will also start on the same date, but with home-based learning and will only return to school physically on March 8, he added.

Asked the reason for the Form Two and Form Three students to only start face-to-face learning on March 8, 2021, Radzi said their classes would be used to accommodate Form Five students who will sit for the 2020 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, which will begin on Feb 22, 2021.

On the constraints facing students in the rural areas, especially to get Internet access for online learning, Radzi he said the ministry would leave the matter to the teachers to use whatever approach or resources to ensure students would not lag behind in their studies.

Meanwhile, for students staying at hostels, Radzi said parents or guardians should bring the children home.

"However, the students can continue to stay at hostel while waiting to be picked up by their parents or guardians," he said, adding that during that period, they would be under the supervision of the hostel warden and their food and drink will be provided by the school.

Radzi said the first day of the school academic session next year also applied to private schools and any learning institutions registered with the MOE.

For those which are not registered with MOE, they are also advised to do the same, he added.

Radzi said for matriculation and Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) students, they will continue with their online learning until 31 Dec 2020, with those taking the matriculation programme to return to their respective colleges on Jan 4, 2021.

For IPG students, their teaching and learning process, as well as assessment for all study programmes, will be carried out during the academic calendar of the Teacher Education Programme session 2020/2021 and session 2021/2022.

“The IPG students will return to campus and continue with their studies on Jan 17, 2021,” he added.