By Dania Errissya Ismaili
KUCHING: Introducing home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) to the country is not only a challenge for parents, but also for teachers and students as they have to face numerous issues.
A teacher, who refused to be named, said students who take online classes do not have the opportunity to interact face-to-face.
“In school, it is easier to teach and motivate the students face-to-face but when the classes are conducted online, students’ readiness in terms of gadgets, data plan, and self-motivation are all factors that will affect the effectiveness of online classes.
“It is very difficult for students to develop relationships with others in distinctive courses. Instead, traditional learning has campuses so you can socialise as well as study together.”
A teacher at a school in Kuching said that intermediate students have very low attendance rates in online classes.
“For example, student attendance from the first class is 28 out of 30, while the rate among students from intermediate classes is 19 out of 30 students.
“Students are not supervised during online classes. It is very easy for students to lose focus or get bored while learning. Eventually, they will miss something in class.”
Accounting assistant Nur Rugayah, 50, said the decision to start the PdPR provided her with a sense of relief.
“Many parents, I believe, are concerned about their children’s safety. For me, I am concerned about the introduction of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in schools and wonder if students will be able to follow them.
“Parents are probably afraid of another Covid-19 cluster. Previously, when everybody assumed it was secure, the number of cases skyrocketed. Parents are concerned that their children will neglect SOPs such as social distancing,” said Nur Rugayah.
She also noted that PdPR was challenging for parents as not all of them are equipped with the necessary skills to teach.
