Schools have reopened this month, but how did the school closures - which disrupted learning for about 5 million children here in Malaysia - impact our most vulnerable children in particular? Why is getting them back into school a priority? On this, our penultimate episode of our series in collaboration with the folks from Buka Sekolah Kami!, we discuss not only how school closures have impacted the most vulnerable children, but now that schools have reopened, the steps needed in the long road ahead to fix the problems that have resulted from these prolonged school closures. Joining us this week are Azlina Kamal, an Education Specialist for UNICEF in Malaysia, and Chan Soon Seng, the CEO of Teach for Malaysia.

This series is done in collaboration with Buka Sekolah Kami! a coalition of teachers, parents, educational institutions, medical professionals and grassroots organizations, who believe that the cost of school closures greatly outweigh the benefits. They are advocating for policy makers to prioritize the reopening of schools on a national level, and the need for a decentralised solution, and an end to blanket policies. 

Image credit: Naufal Zaquan - Shutterstock

Produced by: Juliet Jacobs

Presented by: Juliet Jacobs

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Categories:  Politics,  Social Issues,  Education,  law & legal matters

Tags:  The Bigger Picture,  Live & Learn,  BukaSekolahKami,  education,  learning loss,  COVID-19,  school closures,  #schoolsareessential,  #lostgeneration,  #yourchildandmine,  UNICEF,  Teach for Malaysia,  TFM,  #BuildBackBetter,