Teo Nie Ching said the education ministry’s “short-sightedness” was clear from its poorly planned decision to reopen schools now despite closing them nationwide last November.

“Last November, our total active cases stood at 11,689,” he said. “As of yesterday, that total was 41,976.”

Teo also questioned the education ministry’s readiness to provide education to students across the board.

“While students can opt not to return to school, online learning isn’t readily offered to them as a choice,” she said. “So, what options do SPM and STPM candidates really have?”

She said the ministry should realise that the one-size-fits-all approach does not account for regional discrepancies across the nation.

“Returning to school would definitely be viable for students with limited access to online learning,” she said. “But parents and students concerned about Covid-19 may prefer continuing online learning.”

Since the ministry of education (MOE) is unlikely to cancel SPM and STPM this year, Teo suggested that the ministry offer intensive revision lessons for candidates.

“In addition to providing physical classes, MOE should also gather the best teachers, record their lessons, put them online, and broadcast them via free educational TV channels.”

She urged the ministry to collaborate with the communications and multimedia ministry to create these educational channels for exam-year students.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also suggested the use of educational television as an alternative to online learning.

“We must admit to ourselves that education is far more important than entertainment,” he had said on Jan 18.

He also said that private broadcasters should help in this effort as well as part of their corporate social responsibility.