SIBU: Student safety in every activity, particularly high-risk ones, must be given serious attention with a more vigilant attitude and the resolve to make decisions to protect themselves from any unwanted incidents.

Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee said that the aspect of safety must always be prioritised with strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) in every activity involving students.

According to him, although guidelines have been set, students should not just follow instructions without assessing the level of safety.

“Students have the right to say no if they feel that a directive is unsafe. This attitude must be practiced to maintain their own safety,” he said.

He said this when met after paying his last respects to the late Joey Ling Lin Siang here, on Wednesday.

Commenting further, the Nangka Assemblyman stressed that students must also dispute instructions from superiors if there is a risk to safety.

Meanwhile, he admitted that although the guidelines and SOPs are in place, the level of compliance in actual implementation is still a major challenge.

“We often re-evaluate the guidelines after an accident occurs. Ideally, evaluation and review should be done earlier to avoid unwanted incidents,” he explained.

Datuk Dr Annuar also described the incident of two students from the Institute of Teacher Education Perlis Campus who drowned while kayaking in Kedah on April 4 as a crucial reminder to all parties.

In this regard, he stressed that compliance with the SOPs and careful risk assessments must be implemented consistently to ensure that student safety is always guaranteed and such tragedies do not recur. -UKASnews