KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — As social distancing will be part of the students’ culture when schools reopen, schools have to plan their logistics and come up with their own Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

The Alliance for Safe Community chairman said the SOP should depend on, among others, the number of students and toilets available, break times and instructions on the use of corridors, steps and playgrounds.

"Teachers should be sensitive, and able to explain to students the necessity for social distancing, which is not the same thing as being anti-social.

"They must explain why this is necessary, and that it is only a temporary measure,” he said in a statement here today.

He said teachers must be consulted on the ‘new norm’ environment and a new schooling pedagogy based on the SOP may need to be rolled out.

On April 15, Senior Minister of Education Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that if schools are to reopen in the near future, each class should only accommodate 16 to 17 students at any one time to enable social distancing to prevent the possible spread of Covid-19.

Reopening of the school session would involve five million students nationwide. — Bernama