Former education minister Maszlee Malik, his former deputy Teo Nie Ching, and former deputy women, family and community development minister Hannah Yeoh said this today at a press conference in Parliament.
The trio, who sought clarification from the government, pointed out that most kindergartens in Johor have reopened following the lifting of the conditional movement control order (CMCO), but those in Pahang, which was not under the recent CMCO, remain closed.
Teo said many kindergarten operators were confused over the ministry’s announcement that all schools would be closed from Nov 9 to Dec 17 and 18.
“Except for two red zone districts, all kindergartens in Johor are now allowed to operate. But in Pahang, which is a green zone without any active cases, kindergartens are still not allowed to open.
“This is a good example of how there is no consistency in the SOPs and instructions from government agencies,” the Kulai MP said.
Maszlee blamed the confusion and predicament affecting many families on the lack of communication among the education ministry, the women, family and community development ministry and stakeholders.
The Simpang Renggam MP said the unclear SOPs only burdened parents further, as they were now allowed to return to the workplace but could not send their children to kindergarten.
He urged the education ministry to get in touch with all affected parties and clear up the confusion soon.
Yeoh, meanwhile, said with childcare centres being allowed to reopen, kindergartens should follow suit.
“Some parents might have two children, one in a childcare centre and another in kindergarten. They have called the hotline for clarification but even the hotline operators don’t know the answer,” the Segambut MP said.
She said that during a Zoom meeting conducted with kindergarten operators, the feedback was that online lessons were not suitable for children under six, as they were not capable of sitting down and paying attention to lessons on a screen.
With the prolonged closure of kindergartens, many of the operators were also concerned about their ability to pay teachers’ salaries for the next few months, with parents not paying fees.
According to Yeoh, the loose definition of education institutions in the guidelines also left many tuition centre operators unsure of whether they were allowed to operate.
She urged the ministries to properly discuss and set standard guidelines before making future announcements.
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