PUTRAJAYA: All educational institutions under the Ministry of Education (MOE) which were affected by the floods, as well as those that had been turned into temporary relief centres (PPS), have resumed normal operations today.
Minister Fadhlina Sidek said between Nov 11 last year and yesterday, a total of 133 primary schools, 23 secondary schools, and one Permata centre in Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, and Perak were impacted by the Northeast Monsoon flood disaster.
During the same period, she said 207 educational institutions under MoE in 10 states namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Kedah, and Sabah were turned into PPS, including 173 primary schools, 33 secondary schools, and one vocational college.
As at 4pm yesterday, the MoE Flood Reporting Dashboard indicated that nine primary schools and one secondary school in Kelantan, Pahang, and Sarawak were still affected by the floods.
At present, she said one primary school each in Kelantan and Pahang was still being used as a PPS.
"The relevant JPNs (state education departments) and PPDs (district education offices) have taken appropriate measures to ensure schools can operate normally, such as relocating stock or surplus furniture and textbooks from schools within the same district to those in need," she said.
Fadhlina said the JPNs and PPDs were also assessing the damage suffered by the flood-affected educational institutions under MOE.
"According to preliminary reports, the estimated damage from these floods exceeds RM1 million, involving damage to furniture, fences, and physical structures in the affected states, as well as immovable assets in Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang," she said.
The minister said MoE had also assisted those institutions, teachers, and personnel affected by the floods, such as in the case of a student who was reported drowned in Kelantan where a takaful claim of RM5,500 per person was given to the victim's family.
She said each flood-affected school or school turned into PPS would also receive aid of RM2,000 from Tun Hussein Onn Teachers Foundation, in addition to having volunteers from MoE to help with post-flood cleaning.
"The Smart Support Team is also assisting students who are victims at the PPS in dealing with trauma and unstable emotions based on the MoE Circular No. 8/2016: Guidelines for Management of Teaching and Learning Due to Disaster," she said.
Fadhlina said that students affected by the floods were allowed to attend school in casual clothing.
"For children affected by the floods, whose clothes have either been washed away or are a total loss, resulting in them having no school uniforms, we agree that they can come to school in appropriate casual clothing," she said.
On the preparations for public examinations, Fadhlina said a total of 4,058 candidates for the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) would sit for the examination starting today, and none of them were housed at any PPS.
For the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), which will begin on Jan 8, Fadhlina said 395,870 candidates would be sitting for the examination, and only one candidate is still in a PPS in Johor.
As of yesterday, she said no candidate for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), which will begin on Jan 9, was housed at any PPS.
When asked about school operations amid the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, Fadhlina said the MoE had issued a reminder to all educational institutions under its purview to continue adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the National Security Council from time to time.
All MoE educational institutions were also required to practise prevention measures for Covid-19 and other respiratory infections as advised by the Ministry of Health, she added. – BERNAMA