SANDAKAN – While some are fretting over the reopening of schools since they have invested in smart devices for online learning, teachers in Sandakan are heaving a sigh of relief.
This is because they are relieved to have been discharged from challenges like students who cannot attend online classes due to internet connectivity issues and those that do not have any smart devices.
A teacher at Sekolah Menengah (SM) St Mary Sandakan, Mandy Chiang said that her prayers were answered when the Education Minister announced that secondary school will resume face-to-face sessions in April.
“I have been praying hard for this good news.
“The Home Teaching and Learning session was too difficult as most of my students could not attend classes due to internet problems and lack of gadgets required for online classes.
“It is a very serious problem as those who could not attend online class would have missed all lessons this year since January 20,” she said.
Chiang said she hoped that parents would cooperate and allow their children to attend physical classes, since the school management is trying their best to ensure all students adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP).
She added that all her colleagues were also looking forward to conducting face-to-face sessions again.
Lisa Yapp, a primary school teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Saint Paul, Beaufort, was also elated with the news as it would enable her to guide her students effectively.
“The physical and online classes are totally different.
“When face-to-face with students, I am able to identify students who are struggling to understand what I am teaching, and guide them accordingly.
“That is something I cannot do during a zoom meeting (online application) class.
“Plus, a lot of students do not have gadgets or access to attend online classes,” she said.
Yapp who teaches Science also said that some parents were illiterate, or may not be well-versed in their children’s subjects and hence were unable to guide them (the students) in their studies.
Meanwhile, parents are also welcoming the reopening of schools with open arms.
Sekolah Menengah St Cecilia Sandakan’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) head, Dr Peter Jr. Naintin said that parents were happy as many of their children were unable to attend online classes due to lack of gadgets.
He said even though schools in Sandakan were closed temporarily during the second movement control order (MCO) due to a positive Covid-19 case, parents were still confident that the school management would ensure the safety of the school.
“We hope that all students will follow our advice and return home immediately after school to avoid getting infected,” he said.
Father of three boys, Iswadiman Shamsuddin said that the reopening of schools was timely, but the government needs to be stringent with the implementation of SOPs for students.
“The SOP should also include after-school sessions, while students are waiting for their ride home outside the school gate.
“The government should issue an instruction to students not to be outside the school compound, the town for example, if there was nothing important for them to do.
“The authorities should take action against students with school uniforms who are seen at public places.
“Schools and parents should be responsible to ensure that this does not happen,” he said.
Iswadiman also said that his children had also been struggling with online lessons, as it was difficult for them to comprehend what the teacher was teaching.
“At times, my children were unable to complete their school assignments on time as they had to wait for me to return home from work to guide them,” he added. – The Vibes, February 21, 2021
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