| As we have been alerted by another phase of school closure after Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays, there are several issues that need to be continuously worked on - for the students, parents, and teachers to be able to cope with online learning at home.
The ICT Use and Access by Individuals and Households Survey Report 2020 released by the Department of Statistics has revealed that the percentage of households with access to digital devices, namely computers, was 77.6 percent, higher than the preceding year’s figure of 71.3 percent. Data also shows that there is a big gap in terms of access to computers between households living in rural areas and those living in urban areas – 55.5 percent versus 82.8 percent respectively.
One way of dealing with this issue is by providing smart devices to those in need such as the B40 households. As announced in Budget 2021, this initiative is related to the RM150 million allocation for Tabung Cerdik to provide laptops for 150,000 students in 500 schools. Given the need to have students learning online again due to increased risks of Covid-19 infections, the government needs to speed up the distribution of the devices in order to facilitate students’ learning process and to also ease the burden for parents who cannot afford the devices as their financial status doesn’t allow them to do so.
And finally, there needs to be monetary aid for teachers who have had to spend their own money to cater to online learning for the students. Just like students, teachers also need to be supported and motivated in many ways to keep on educating.