Form 5 student Fatin Awanis Mohd Zaki hoped that Putrajaya would expedite the vaccines for teens so that students like her could enjoy their final year in secondary school.

“We actually miss going to school and the environment there with our teachers and friends. Since this pandemic started, we’ve had to spend most of our time at home.

“I agree if the government wants to vaccinate teens under 18, because we want to study as usual again,” the student from SMK Agama Yan in Kedah told FMT.

Nurul Syahirah Zamry, a schoolmate of Fatin’s, hoped that the vaccine roll-out for teenagers would mean that Form 5 students could return to school to prepare for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, which has been scheduled for February and March next year.

While home learning had its challenges, Syahirah said it taught students to be self-disciplined without any teachers monitoring them physically during classes.

“For me, physical lessons are easier for us and teachers, especially for those sitting for SPM. We have had to catch up with our syllabus.

“With online classes, it’s more difficult to even ask our teachers questions compared with physical classes, because there are so many students for the teacher to monitor and also connectivity issues,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia president Mohd Azizee Hasan said the government should prioritise vaccinating teachers handling SPM students so that they could go back to physical lessons soon.

Yesterday, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said children aged 12 and above can receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Previously, only those 18 and above could be vaccinated.

Despite the approval, Noor Hisham said the vaccines will be prioritised for high-risk groups first before the jabs are given to teenagers. No specific date has been set for vaccinating children aged 12 and above.

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