Rokiah Mahmud
Years 11, 12 and 13 students will begin antigen rapid test (ART) screening at home starting tomorrow, while all educational institutions under the Ministry of Education (MoE), Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) will follow suit on February 14.
This was said by Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman at a press conference yesterday.
Schools will inform parents and guardians of students involved on the procedures for its implementation and reporting process of self-ART testing.
Physical classes that resumed on January 3 have been continuously monitored by teachers, including ensuring the ART screening every week is being implemented weekly.
The minister added with the current development of the outbreak and advice from the COVID-19 Steering Committee, the home ART screening will be rolled out phase by phase.
Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah said guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) will remain the same to ensure the safety of students and employees of the school.
The ministry, through the Department of Private School, will continue to monitor schools to ensure compliance to the measure.
Kindergarten children will also need to be screened for COVID-19 using the ART kit once a week and are allowed to do it at home starting February 14, the minister said.
Procedures on the screening and the report on the ART result will be shared by the schools.
Students who have not allowed to attend physical classes will continue their studies remotely.
