“Parents will feel more worried if the truth is intentionally covered up.”

PETALING JAYA: As the country now transitions to the endemic phase of COVID-19, are schools still required to publish the actual number of students and teachers infected with the virus?

Malaysian Chinese Education Parents Association chairman Loh Tian Hong said he could understand why the education department and school authorities have opted not to publish the numbers for fear of raising unnecessary alarm and affecting student attendance.

However he said as a parent, he would feel more worried if the truth is intentionally covered up.

He told Sin Chew Daily at least the form teacher involved should inform the parents while the parent-teacher association should also be notified.

“The PTA acts like a bridge between the school principal and the parents, and can help clear the doubts of parents if it has been kept abreast of the actual situation.”

From what he knows, Loh said the district education departments in Selangor no longer require the schools to publish the actual number of people infected in the school beginning this month.

Loh, who is also the PTA chairman of SJK(C) Puay Chai 2 in Bandar Utama, said prior to April 1, his school would inform the parents how many students in which class had tested positive and how long the class would be shut, while the form teacher would also inform the parents in their WhatsApp group.

“However, I believe after April 1, the school will no longer have to do so, and only the form teacher will notify the parents of a particular class.”

Meanwhile, National Union of Heads of Schools president Lim Bee Khim said since the first movement control order (MCO) in 2020, Chinese primary schools in Kuala Lumpur would only notify parents of any student infection without revealing the identity of the student concerned or the specific class he or she was in.

Besides, only students sitting next to the infected student would need to be quarantined, not the whole class.

Prior to this, the class would be shut down once there was a single positive case in the class.

But now, the school can only request to shut down a class if there are at least two positive cases in the class.

“Students who have been fully vaccinated will only need to be quarantined for five days, while unvaccinated students have to be quarantined for seven days and do self tests every day.”