KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — A total of 376 educational institutions in the red zone area in Johor Bahru district, Johor were ordered to close for two weeks from this Sunday until Nov 14.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) in a statement today said that the institutions involved are primary and secondary schools under MOE, Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) as well as private schools registered with MOE.
Among the educational institutions involved are 15 international schools and four vocational colleges.
“This district (Johor Bahru) has been confirmed as a COVID-19 red zone by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“The closure order is in line with a special message by the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Oct 6 regarding the government’s decision to close schools in red zone areas,” the statement said today.
According to the statement, the list of schools and institutions will be updated from time to time through MOE portal at www.moe.gov.my and on the MOE’s official social media platform.
MOE said schools and educational institutions that have hostels are also closed and parents or guardians have to take students living in dormitories home.
However, for students who are waiting to be picked up by their parents or who want to stay in the hostel, during the closure will be under the care of the hostel warden.
“Their food and drink during the period will be provided by the school and the institution,” it said.
Meanwhile, students who are scheduled to sit for international examinations during the closure of the institution, will need to obtain a letter from their respective schools to attend the examination.
“During this period, school administrators as well as all educational institutions are instructed to ensure that teachers and students carry out teaching and learning from home.
“The manual can be downloaded from the official portal, www.moe.gov.my,” he said.
Meanwhile, in KUCHING three schools in Samarahan district have been ordered to close from Nov 2 to Nov 13 following the neighbouring Kuching district being declared as the COVID-19 red zone.
A statement of the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) today, said the three schools involved are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Wira Penrissen, SMK Sg Tapang and Sekolah Kebangsaan Wira Jaya.
“The closure of the three schools is in line with the announcement by the Ministry of Education regarding the closure of education institutions in the red zone in Kuching,” the statement said.
The statement also mentioned that a total of 16 new positive cases of COVID-19 were recorded today which brought the total number of cases in the state to 872.
