KOTA KINABALU: Most parents in Sabah appear to disagree with the Federal Government’s move to consider allowing nurseries and kindergartens to operate during the ongoing Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that the Government was aware of the complaints raised by certain parents regarding their childcare issues.
He said the matter would be discussed during the next ministerial meeting.
A random survey conducted by The Borneo Post revealed that most of the parents in the state were not ready to send their kids back to nurseries and kindergartens although many of them are still paying full fees.
Jessie Ho, a mother of five, said the reopening of childcare centres would be tantamount to creating a mass gathering.
“I strongly disagree because this can be considered as a mass gathering. There are those who may have been infected by the virus and may not even know it as they don’t show any symptoms.
“It is better to be safe than sorry,” said Jessie, who works in the private sector.
She said that she would refrain from sending any of her children to school throughout this pandemic period.
With the supervision of parents and the Internet, Jessie said it was possible for her children to learn in the comfort of her own home.
“My children would get homework from their teachers through google classrooms and on Whatsapp on a daily basis, except weekends,” she disclosed.
Members of public in this district have reached a consensus that the nursery or kindergarten should not be allowed to operate for the time being.
Chokie, whose two-year-old daughter Hermione Lim is enrolled at a preschool in Luyang, was concerned about the risk of sending her child back, saying it would be difficult to maintain social distancing among young children.
She said parents would have an even harder time taking care of a sick child if their children contracted Covid-19 at kindergartens or childcare centres, and there is no vaccine for the virus yet.
“I believe preschools should only be allowed to reopen after our country recorded zero positive Covid-19 case for some time, or else our effort to self-isolate at home would have been in vain.”
Kamarudin Hamid said it was inappropriate to open the childcare centre during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period as there could be new Covid-19 cases happening.
He said children at the kindergartens would not be able to understand the standard operation procedure (SOP) and they certainly could not adhere to it.
Although the teachers fully understand the SOP, it would be hard to carry out especially when involving the children.
“To me, it is a big risk to allow a nursery or kindergarten to operate now,” he added.
Eramaya Jumadi said schools and kindergartens should be the last to be opened and the government should ensure there would be no more threat of Covid-19.
Abie Lim agreed with Eramaya and said even those grown up have difficulty in practising social distancing.
She said it would be better to prevent any problems involving children, and it would be pitiful if they were infected with Covid-19.
Nazfar Abdullah, Kristalandra Philip and Ming Long also agreed that it is very hard to control children.
They also agreed that it would be better for the children to stay at home for the time being so that their parents could control them and ensure their hygiene.
Lairin Mapin, 30, prefers to teach her six-year-old daughter at home, using Google assignment sent by her kindergarten on a daily basis.
“I have been paying full for March and April fees although I’m not sending my daughter to school.
Luckily the kindergarten is sending daily assignment every day and I will make sure my daughter completes the task before 5 pm.
“If the kindergarten is opened soon, I hope I am given the option to teach my daughter from home without attending class, because I don’t think children can understand how to observe social distancing,” she said.
Nana Zainuddin, 36, who is staying in an “orange zone” (below 40 cases) district, said she might not send both her children to kindergarten until end of the year.
“Both my six-year-old and four-year-old are attending the same kindergarten, and I don’t think I am ready to send them during this MCO.
“I don’t mind if they are left behind during this critical moment, because all I want is to make sure they are safe and not exposed to the coronavirus.
“I will only send them to school once we have zero new cases and when the Health Department announces that it is safe,” she said.
As for Issabela Abah, she suggested that employers make it flexible for working parents with kids to work on shift, or allow them to work from home so that they are not required to go to the office.
“It is not safe for children to stay and play together in such a small place, especially when we have no idea of their parents’ travel history, working environment and contacts,” she said.
Dinza Watie said it is not reasonable to open nurseries and kindergartens now unless Malaysia has reached zero new Covid-19 case.
She said that if there is a chance the virus is still out there, there is no way that parents are going to take the risk and send their children out of the house.
Edveanna Longinus Kim Tuan, a mother with a toddler and a newborn, said she would rather look after her children alone than send them anywhere outside the house, because she is worried over the risk of them getting infected with Covid-19.
Mohd Khalid Alipudin, a father of four, said the idea of opening childcare centres and kindergarten during this time is absurd.
“The children should be the last to be exposed to the outside world right now. They are the most important asset, they are our future. We, as adults, are supposed to do our best to protect them, not put them to the field first while we stay behind,” he stressed.
While most parents do not want to take the risk, some people opined that the Federal Government may have taken the decision to discuss on the matter because they are concerned about the wellbeing of the children whose parents have to work during the MCO period.
Zekiel K. Keridau said it should be okay for nurseries and kindergartens to be opened as long as they had gone through all safety measures such as disinfection of the school.
“I guess they (Government) are concerned that the children would have no caretaker if their parents have to work, especially when MCO is lifted,” he said.
A mother of one, Jennifer Janing Dingil said the opening of nurseries and kindergartens could be a solution for working parents.
“Where else are they supposed to place their children? They cannot take the kids to work with them,” she said.