TAWAU – Not wanting to miss home-based teaching and learning sessions, students in Wallace Bay, Pulau Sebatik near here are travelling about 30km or 40 minutes by motorcycle daily to Sg Tongkang just to find a better internet connection.
In sharing this, SMK Wallace Bay senior assistant for student affairs Sibrin Daie said poor internet coverage in Wallace Bay and the surrounding areas had forced the students to go out of their homes to take part in classes.
“The phone line is fine but we are having trouble connecting to the internet. Pulau Sebatik needs improved internet coverage to allow sessions to run smoothly,” he told reporters after receiving 10 smartphones from the Tawau Red Crescent Society for less fortunate students at the school here, today.
Sibrin said 266 students in SMK Wallace Bay mostly come from low-income families and the majority of them do not own mobile phones, so the contribution will make it easier for them to take part in online classes.
“These mobile phones will be given to 10 eligible students. We know at SMK Wallace Bay many students are sharing mobile phones with their parents. So if the parents go to work, they will not be able to attend sessions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tawau Red Crescent Society chairman Pang Pak Chung said the aid programme targeted secondary school students without mobile phones, and 10 students in SMK Wallace Bay had met its requirements based on applications submitted by the school. – Bernama, June 26, 2021
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