Close urban schools, go back to home-based learning, urges Bukit Assek rep

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Irene Chang

SIBU (April 13): The authorities should immediately close schools in urban areas and return to home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) in view of the number of schools here which have been affected by Covid-19, said Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang.

She said the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) have to consider if opening physical classes outweighs the benefit of continuing with PdPR.

The DAP rep said since schools reopened, new Covid-19 positive cases had been reported in 10 schools in Sibu alone, including the seven schools which were closed effective April 12.

“Given the increasing figures, what needs to be done immediately is to close the urban schools and revert to PdPR learning until the pandemic is under control in Sarawak,” she said in a statement.

She said this would release both teachers and parents from mental and emotional stress so that they could truly focus on teaching and learning through online facilities rather than being constantly on edge to switch from physical class to PdPR class and vice versa.

Each time a positive case was confirmed, Chang said teachers, students and parents would be thrown into fear and anxiety.

“The constant closing, sanitisation and reopening of schools upon a positive case being reported cause havoc to their teaching schedule and lesson plans.

“Their (the teachers’) focus is now diverted from teaching effectively to the need to make sure that their students are following the SOPs and keep the school environment virus-free.

“Amid this highly charged tensed environment, teaching and learning become a burden for both teachers and students,” said Chang.

As a long-term strategy, she said SDMC and MOE should consider preparing the schools and teachers to adopt blended-learning which combines live online teaching with physical face-to-face classes.

Chang said this was the best approach and the best way forward until society could return to normalcy, even with the availability of the vaccines.

She said teachers should also switch from the use of the traditional whiteboard and blackboard to electronic teaching.

“Each teacher should be equipped with a tablet/laptop for this purpose and they should use it to teach even in the face-to-face classes.
“Students who opt to continue their studies online would have to log into the online system at the same time as the physical classes.

“In this way, the teacher would only need to teach once and both students in the physical classroom and students in the virtual classroom would be able to keep up with their lessons at the same time,” she said.

Chang also said students and parents have a choice to make through blended-learning.

“Families with no online facilities or with parents who are not able to sit by their children’s side are able to opt for face-to-face classes, whereas parents who are rightly still worried about the current situation and have access and means to online facilities at home would be able to allow their children to continue lessons from home.

“Teachers need not prepare several lesson plans just to adapt to the constant changing decisions of the MOE. Of course, all children and teachers attending physical classes in school should continue to follow strict SOP with face masks and face shields on.”

With blended learning, Chang said physical contact between the teachers and students can be controlled while at the same time, they can ensure that all students are not left behind in education.

“I believe that traditional physical classes can go hand in hand with e-learning especially when this is already a tried and tested approach in most of the higher learning institutions with their university students.

“During these trying times, where physical or virtual classes are neither here nor there, blended learning seems to be the only viable way forward for the younger generations,” said Chang.