Only 17 students per class during COVID-19 season

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Schools will be limiting up to 17 students per class to maintain social distancing once they are allowed to reopen, said Education Minister Senator Mohd Radzi Jidin.

The ministry has conducted a field trial to determine the reasonable number of students within each class based on classrooms’ dimension while adhering social distancing measures.

On normal days, each classroom could hold up to 35 students but in the new norm, that must be reduced. In the context of social distancing, the most is 16 to 17 students and for some schools with larger classes, this number could reach 20 people.

“This means the number of students in each class must be split half. We are also looking into how to conduct lessons for both classes or whether smaller classrooms needed to be shifted to a larger hall, for example.

“Therefore, the ministry has several options on the advice of the Health Ministry that are being considered to ensure students can return to school without compromising their safety when the Covid-19 outbreak subsides,” he was quoted saying in a televised interview

Mohd Radzi said these measures were some of the standard operating procedures (SOP) for post-Covid-19 school management to be fine-tuned later.

To reduce physical and close counter mee ups, tMohd Radzi said canteen SOPs will also be enhanced to ensure there was no congestion during normal recess, as crowds could expose students to infection risks by having pre-packaged meal to be given out according to the timetable.

Schools are still remained closed despite the conditional movement control order in which most business activities save for those relying on crowds and close contact have been allowed to resume

Source: bharian.com