Datuk Wong Tiong Hook
KUCHING: The Board of Management for Kuching Chung Hua Primary School (CHPS) No.1-6 has maintained its stand that primary schools should not be reopened so soon.
Its chairman Datuk Wong Tiong Hook said many parents had approached the board to ask if pupils of primary school upper levels would be expected to return to school following the recent announcement by Ministry of Education (MoE) on the reopening of schools for Form Five and Six.
“We are of the opinion that primary school pupils should continue staying at home since online teaching has been conducted for our pupils since the Movement Control Order (MCO) period,” he told a press conference at a coffee shop in Gala City here yesterday.
Wong said if the MoE happened to decide to allow primary school pupils to resume classes, the board would propose to reopen Primary Five and Six.
He said the board had a discussion with the six headmasters who unanimously agreed that they were able to handle only Primary Five and Six pupils in line with the standard operating procedures (SOP) of 1M social distancing.
According to him, the maximum number of pupils allowed under the 1M social distancing in one classroom is 18.
“The most that we can have in one classroom is 18 pupils. Each of our six schools has more than 1,000 pupils, we won’t be able to practise the 1M social distancing if all our pupils are to return to schools
“Furthermore, we will have to get approval from at least 70 per cent of parents, if we were to see Primary Five and Six pupils returning to schools,” he said.
Wong said each school would have to take care of 500 to 600 pupils, if classes were reopened for Primary Five and Six.
He added that the board had prepared 80,000 to 100,000 pieces of face masks as well as hand sanitisers for pupils of the six schools, in the event that reopening of schools happened in the near future.