KOTA KINABALU – The Education Ministry’s inability to provide for students who are struggling to access online classes can open doors to negligence suits against the government, said constitutional lawyer Lim Wei Jiet.
“The government, arguably, has a duty of care to provide accessible and a minimum standard of education for all students. When that duty is breached and causes students to fall behind in their studies, then a case for negligence can be made,” he told The Vibes.
He cited an example of Sabah students suing their teacher for being absent for an unreasonable period of time.
“Although there is no decision yet, it can establish a very important precedent.”
Difficulties in Sabah
As teaching and learning sessions shift from physically attending school to online platforms, students in Sabah, especially those from low-income families, have been struggling to keep up.
Last May, state Education Director Datuk Mistrine Radin said 52% of Sabah students do not have access to the internet or have smartphones, computers or other devices needed for online lessons.
The Vibes has reported that students living in Pulau Berhala, Sandakan, whose families do not have a smartphone, have resorted to borrowing a device belonging to their neighbours, who live kilometres away, just to attend online classes.
According to Senator Adrian Lasimbang, he has been receiving cries for help from parents who cannot afford the financial burdens linked to online education for their children.
“Besides internet connection problems in rural areas, the urban poor are also facing difficulty in this matter.
“Some cannot afford to buy internet data; other families do not own more than one device. It gets worse for families that have three or four children.
“A lot of parents have voiced their concerns to me; most of them have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Personally, I have donated about RM500 worth of mobile phone data. Google Classroom used for online lessons consumes a lot of data,” he told The Vibes.
Federal assistance MIA
Lasimbang said the assistance announced by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government to help Sabahans cope with the shift in the norms of the education system has yet to reach its target groups.
“The Jendela (National Digital Network) development projects to construct telecommunication towers are just to increase internet penetration and do not provide free or cheap internet for the people.
“The government should give free internet data to all students registered under the Education Ministry. Students now have email addresses, so each account can be allocated with internet data from any telecommunication company. This will be a faster and easier solution.
“They could use the Universal Service Provision (USP) funds from telecommunication companies for this purpose. All companies have a social responsibility to ensure that online learning is conducted smoothly.”
He also suggested that the government introduce “gadget coupons”, in which each student gets a RM600 coupon to purchase a device.
As for students suing the government, Lasimbang said it is hard to blame the government as the country battles the pandemic.
“It is different from the students suing a teacher in Kota Belud for not attending class.
“But, if the government is slow in taking action to handle these difficulties faced by students here, the government can be held liable for this.
“The Education Ministry had enough time to plan and prepare for this. In fact, it had more than six months.” – The Vibes, January 29, 2021
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