Harry Tan, secretary-general of the National Union of the Teaching Profession, told FMT that the order was very unreasonable, and not in line with movement restrictions enforced by the government.

Tan said the circular, signed by the rector of the Malaysian teacher training institute, Rusmini Ku Ahmad, went viral in WhatsApp groups today.

The circular said trainee teachers who have practical work must start to return to their institutions tomorrow (Feb 22) for them to be able to carry out their practical at their selected schools.

The circular said students who were not involved in practical work are to continue with online teaching and learning from home until the end of the semester.

However Tan said the trainee teachers involved were living at home in states which were under movement restrictions barring interstate or inter-district travel.

He said it was not right to expose student teachers to the risk of exposure to Covid-19. The trainees and their families would also need to bear many costs, such as buying last-minute tickets to return to their campuses, and paying for swab tests.

Tan said practical training could be postponed until the Covid-19 situation calms down, just like other training in other industries and education courses.