Stop knee-jerk reactions and give students long-term plan, ministry told

The Pakatan Harapan Education Committee urged Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and his two deputies Mah Hang Soon and Muslimin Yahaya to act proactively to improve online learning through the Teaching and Learning at Home method.

It said the Education Ministry seems to be carrying out a "knee jerk reaction" without having a long-term plan and an emergency plan, as well as lack a creative approach on the matter.

"(This is) especially in the face of digital poverty and addressing the gap in access to online education.

"This has caused concern for many parties, especially parents and teachers.

"Various complaints and criticisms have been raised through social media, but no responsible response has been given by the Education Ministry, as usual," read a joint statement by committee chairperson and former education minister Maszlee Malik as well as Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR), Teo Nie Ching (DAP) and Hasan Baharom (Amanah).

The committee listed the issues raised by parents and teachers when all schools close nationwide and undergo online classes after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday.

Among the issues raised were school closures, device problems and Internet access, no alternative plan to address dropouts, the burden of teachers and SPM 2021 students who will be affected due to lack of suitable topics in their study period.

Saying that creative and out of the box approaches were needed, the committee warned that failure to take proactive steps could result in a "lost generation".

"The issue of the 'lost generation' due to dropouts among children during this Covid-19 pandemic period has been brought up by opposition MPs since last year.

“Unfortunately, until now there has been no serious and radical efforts by the Education Ministry, or the government in general to address the 12 proposals made by Maszlee to overcome this problem," the committee said.

They added that the matter has raised concerns about the future of the country in the next five to 10 years.

"Are we going to face a chronic economic, social and criminal crisis, as a result of our children dropping out of school in these two years?

"The ministry needs to be responsible and take proactive, radical and collective action in this regard before it is too late," the committee added. - Mkini

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