CITY

Physical classes have been replaced with online classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
(Source: Harian Metro)

JASIN – The decision of the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) to shut down all schools and instructing teachers to move towards online teaching and learning methods effective on November 20, had its own flaws when this situation has affected both teachers and parents.

A teacher from SMK Tan Sri Haji Abdul Aziz Tapa, Meslina Yahaya, 49, said that it was very hard teaching the students online. Most of the students come from less fortunate families, making it difficult for them to join the classes as they are not equipped with essential devices such as laptops and smartphones.

“There will be only half of the class that will join my lesson on that day. This is because some of the students have to use their parents’ smartphones for the class.

“If their parents need to go to work, they have no choice but to not join the classes. In this case, I will provide some homework for them to do when they get the chance in three days’ time.

“However, this situation becomes worse when some of the students fail to do the assigned task. It affects me as a teacher because I barely see their progress and their understanding on the topic.

“It is very different to physical classes where I can see the students’ progress and straight away help them in understanding the topic better,” said Meslina when contacted by Berita DIMENSi via WhatsApp.

To add, she personally thinks that online classes are not suitable for everyone including herself. Since she has never taught online before, she needs to learn to adapt to the new norm quickly even though it is difficult just to make sure the learning process goes smoothly for the students.

“As I am teaching at a school where the majority of the students are considered ‘weak’ in learning, I need to be able to teach my students in a variety of ways for them to learn something from my class.

“One of the ways is I record myself teaching and explaining a topic so that they could watch it repeatedly until they understand,” she said.

A passionate teacher uses many devices to make sure the effectiveness of the online class is achieved.
(Source: Twitter / @SitiShare)

Not only teachers, parents are also affected by this pandemic and its drastic changes. Mother of four, Roselinah Othman, 48, said that online classes are very challenging for both herself and her children.

“If my children do not understand something from the topic that they have just learned, they will ask me since they have limited time with the teacher in class.

“It is sometimes hard for me to help my children as some of the topics are not what I am majoring in. I need to do some reading before I can help them,” said Roselinah when contacted by Berita DIMENSi via WhatsApp.

According to her, this whole situation is very different to physical classes where the students can ask their teacher if they are having trouble during the lessons whenever they want because they are within the same proximity. Be it either during recess or after class, the students are free to see their teacher and get the answers right away.

Schools are expected to have online classes until COVID-19 cases decrease and after Movement Control Order (MCO) is lifted.

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