According to this Free Malaysia Today article, several parents' groups wonder what is the rationale is behind the government's announcement that all schools across the country will open from 1 March 2021, starting with students in years 1 and 2, followed shortly after those in higher years.
The government had ordered all schools to close from 9 November 2020, due to a rising number of daily new COVID-19 cases which had risen to 972 nationwide that day, and the parents' groups wonder why the government is opening schools when the number of daily new cases was at 2,936 nationwide on 19 February 2021.
Well, the answer is pretty obvious from my earlier IT.Scheiss blog posts on the issue of e-education and online learning and in several media articles about problems with availability of broadband Internet access at home, of availability and affordability of smartphones, tablets, notebook or desktop PCs for children to use for online learning faced especially by parents in the smaller towns and villages, as well as urban, lower-income parents.
Also, from my own direct experience this year itself, even more affluent parents for whom money is no object when it comes to buying whatever devices and accessories their children need for online learning, however some of these parents still lack the tech-savviness to know how to operate and operate online learning platforms and services such as Google Meet, Google Classroom and their children's unique Ministry of Education-assigned e-mail account to receive the notices, assignments and so forth submitted by the teachers. Some of these parents don't even know how to download a PDF copy of lesson submitted by teachers, how to access a PowerPoint slide and so forth, whilst some have problems guiding their children to operate the objective question and answer form online and I have noticed that relatively few children in the class my neighbour's son is in had submitted their answers to questions online.
This may not be much of a problem for children in more senior years or in secondary school who should have acquired sufficient skills to intuitively navigate and operate online learning applications, but this has proven to be a problem for children in more junior years, as I have highlighted in an excerpt in the article below.
From a health perspective, Azrul Mohd Khalib, chief executive of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, said it made sense for younger students to return earlier as they have the "lowest risk" of catching Covid-19 and are also "seriously challenged" when it comes to remote learning – which they find harder to adapt to.
"We don't have local studies to show what has been the impact of the movement control measures imposed as an effort to control the spread of Covid-19, but what we have heard is that some students have lost basic skills such as reading and writing," he said.
"Children learn and retain better when they're in school and when they're face-to-face. I can only imagine that for exam-age students, in particular, this must have been a difficult and distressing year of disruption and lost learning."
So the answer to the question these parents' groups have raised is pretty obvious - i.e. ONLINE LEARNING HAS PROVEN TO BE INFERIOR TO CLASSROOM LEARNING - FULL STOP.
I wrote several cover features about online learning, distance learning and computers in education during my early years with In.Tech, the now defunct weekly ICT pullout of The Star, way back in the late 1990s.
Back then, the concept of online learning was very new, especially in Malaysia, and all I could rely on as material for my articles was what I was told by vendors of online and distance learning systems and the opinions of academics who were advocates of online learning.
However, now that I can look back with a perspective of over 20 years, when I read my cover features about online learning which I wrote back then, I realise what rubbish I wrote.
Moreover, academics worldwide now admit that after 30 years of its promotion, the benefits of computer-based and online learning have shown mixed results as to claims of their superiority over traditional physical attendance in classroom learning.
Well, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the limitations of computer-based and online learning over physical classroom learning have been further exposed.
So reality trumps the hype, hoohah, BS and ballyhoo of the computers in education and online learning system vendors and its starry-eyed proponents in academia.
However, a dilemma still haunts parents with schoolgoing children - i.e. keep them safe from COVID-19 at the expense of the quality of their education or attend classroom learning and risk being infected with COVID-19, with the added risk that infected children, who may be mildly affected or asymptomatic, however infecting more vulnerable adults at home. A tough decision for parents to make.
Perhaps the government could have allowed schools in areas with low daily new COVID-19 numbers to open, whilst those in areas still with high new daily COVID-19 numbers remain closed and students continue to learn online, until when the daily new COVID-19 cases have dropped sufficiently for schools to be reopened.
The Free Malaysia Today article referred to follows in full below:-
What's the rationale for reopening schools, ask parents' groups
Jason Thomas - February 21, 2021 11:15 AM
PETALING JAYA: The government's announcement that schools across the country will reopen from March 1 has not exactly been welcomed with open arms by two parents' groups.
When all schools were ordered to close on Nov 9, the daily number of fresh Covid-19 cases was 972. By comparison, there were 2,936 new cases yesterday – a fact which a parent from Penang said topped most parents' minds.
"The number of cases is very high and worrying. It makes no logical sense to send kids to school," said Rowen Tan, whose son is in Standard 1.
Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin said he was unsure about the rationale behind the move.
"Parents need more than just the announcements of opening," he said. "Please tell us why schools are reopening and why Standard 1 and 2 will be the first?," he asked.
Mak added it would be better if classes were held on a rotational basis so as to prevent overcrowding in schools, a view shared by Tunku Munawirah Putra, secretary of the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE).
While the group agreed with the re-opening of schools, Munawirah said there are several issues that need to be addressed to ensure classes can be conducted safely to prevent outbreaks within schools.
Apart from the appropriate preventive and protective health measures, she hoped to see classes scheduled to ensure schools are not overcrowded.
Among the other issues to be considered include ensuring adequate teaching staff for Form 4 and 5, considering that the same teachers will be teaching three cohorts since there are currently two SPM cohorts (2020 and 2021).
She also stressed that the mental well-being of students and those falling behind in their learning must be taken care of, with adequate support and guidance from teachers and schools to cope with the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
At a press conference earlier, education minister Radzi Jidin said Year 1 and Year 2 pupils will be back to school on March 1 while those in Years 3 to 6 can return on March 8.
Secondary schools will be opened in two groups on April 4 and 5 according to the school calendar in respective states.
Thousands of Form 5 students returned to school on Jan 20 ahead of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination which starts tomorrow.
From a health perspective, Azrul Mohd Khalib, chief executive of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, said it made sense for younger students to return earlier as they have the "lowest risk" of catching Covid-19 and are also "seriously challenged" when it comes to remote learning – which they find harder to adapt to.
"We don't have local studies to show what has been the impact of the movement control measures imposed as an effort to control the spread of Covid-19, but what we have heard is that some students have lost basic skills such as reading and writing," he said.
"Children learn and retain better when they're in school and when they're face-to-face. I can only imagine that for exam-age students, in particular, this must have been a difficult and distressing year of disruption and lost learning."
While reinforcement of health control measures and reasonable physical distancing are necessary, he also pointed out there is a need to also look at proper ventilation in schools.
Stating it is crucial that students are able to return to school in a way that is safe and sustainable, he said it also has to be done in a way that "inspires the confidence" of educators, school staff and the public.
"Therefore, the education ministry must be able to communicate continuously on this issue, giving as much information as possible to address concerns and anxiety among students, parents and guardians."
Yours truly
IT.SCHEISS
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