KUALA LUMPUR – Government-linked companies (GLCs), multinational companies (MNCs), foundations and elected representatives have been urged to play their part to resolve issues affecting the home-based teaching and learning (PdPr) programme.
Dewan Negara People’s Well-being Committee Caucus chairman Senator Datuk Razali Idris said there are issues concerning unequal internet access and a lack of electronic devices for both students and teachers.
These problems mainly affect parents in the B40 and M40 groups, which have been especially hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The caucus strongly calls on GLCs and MNCs related to telecommunications to show solidarity by providing internet and smartphone packages at a reasonable price, as well as unlimited data for internet access,” said Razali in a statement today.
“Foundations and elected representatives must come forward to assist these target groups, who are facing the problem of poor internet access with regard to PdPr sessions.”
He also urged the Communications and Multimedia Ministry to expedite the construction of telco towers and intensify the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan.
He said the ministry should mobilise logistics and internet supply vehicles to areas with poor internet coverage.
“On the other hand, the Education Ministry needs to speed up on (compiling) data to identify students who lack electronic gadgets, from school databases and parent-teacher associations.”
The Student Readiness for Online Learning survey conducted in the middle of last year found that more than 30%, or 280,000, students nationwide do not own the electronic devices needed to follow PdPr sessions.
“The study, involving 670,118 respondents who are parents to 893,331 students, showed that 6% have personal computers, laptops (9.3%), tablets (5.8%) and smartphones (46.5%),” said Razali.
He said the challenges of online learning must be addressed properly, as it can affect the prospects and long-term social mobility, as well as the physical and mental health, of families.
“Therefore, an effort to enhance technology use and narrow the digital gap between all levels of society must be made immediately. If not, the long-term effects will widen the disparity and cause more children to drop out (of school).” – Bernama, January 25, 2021
