Pupils allowed to attend school out of uniform, minister says again

Education Minister Radzi Jidin today reminded schools again to be flexible towards students who attend class in clothing other than their school uniforms.

He said it is enough for them to attend school in neat and proper attire.

He also said the matter had been brought up before, but that parents still complain about teachers who insist on students attending school in uniforms.

“When schools reopened according to the phases of the National Recovery Plan in several states, among others in Klang, Selangor and Melaka, we received complaints from parents who said that certain schools had asked their children to come in school uniforms even though some of the uniforms or shoes didn’t fit anymore.

“So I would like to stress again that the ministry before this has said that for now until the end of the school term this year, we will allow the children to wear attire that is appropriate. That is more important,” he told reporters after a walkabout to view the preparations being made to welcome back pupils when classes reopen at Sekolah Kebangsaan Semaseh in Panchor, Muar, today

The minister also said that schools should be accommodating in welcoming back students, especially since parents must deal with constraints when schools reopen during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in underprivileged families.

In another development, he said all schools entering Phase 4 of the recovery plan should pay specific attention to ventilation, including in the staff room.

“The ventilation system needs special attention. In the beginning, many were confused but lately, almost everyone now understands the importance of having a proper ventilation system in schools

“Classrooms appear to be comfortable but not the teachers’ room. Sometimes they install air-conditioning units but I hope they take into account the ventilation aspect. Windows should be left open for the safety of the teachers,” he said.

Commenting on the one-off intake of teachers to overcome the problem of the shortage of teachers, Radzi said the Education Services Commission had already completed the selection of teachers for Phase One.

Radzi said the initial selection criteria were for candidates who will teach important subjects in school as well as those who have a background in education studies.

“We have chosen candidates from Phase One. We did not decide how many but we were guided by the arrangement of the subjects. Which subject to go first as well as priority given to graduates.

“Once this is achieved, we will look at the graduates who do not have an education background. That is why we are doing this in stages. There are phases that need only hundreds of teachers but there are phases that require thousands. Therefore we have to look at the needs of the subjects in the mentioned phase,” he said.