Rep wants schools in rural areas to stay open, worries kids can't cope
The closure of schools across the country in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak has put students in rural areas at a disadvantage as compared to those in urban areas.
Hence, Tanah Rata assemblyperson Chiong Yoke Kong urged the National Security Council (NSC) and the Education Ministry to make an exception for rural schools...
The closure of schools across the country in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak has put students in rural areas at a disadvantage as compared to those in urban areas.
Hence, Tanah Rata assemblyperson Chiong Yoke Kong urged the National Security Council (NSC) and the Education Ministry to make an exception for rural schools, notably in Pahang.
For the record, Pahang, and several other states including Kelantan, Perlis, and Sarawak are not under the conditional movement control order (MCO). The rest are under the restriction until Dec 6.
However, school closures are effective nationwide.
Chiong, who recently visited Pos Menson Orang Asli folks in Cameron Highlands, said based on feedback, the students there were left out.
While teaching has turned to online platforms, Chiong said rural students struggled with poor Internet connection.
"Although the Education Ministry has ordered teachers to teach online, it's not effective in rural areas as their Internet connectivity is poor," he said in a statement today.
For the record, the Education Ministry announced the closures of schools nationwide from Nov 9 until Dec 17, while for schools that fall under Category B would be closed until Dec 18.
The closures involved 5 million students and 500,000 teachers.
Throughout the period, students have to rely on home-based learning.
However, Chiong said the Orang Asli parents he met complained that their children could not study at home.
Not only were they struggling with Internet connectivity, but they also did not have the right studying environment like that in schools.
"We need to understand that schools play a huge role for children in rural areas. Schools are the only place that encourages the learning process.
"School closures mean the students have lost the focus to study.
"Besides that, rural areas have no tuition classes as normally seen in urban areas. And their parents cannot replace teachers to tutor them," he added.
He pleaded to the Education Ministry and the NSC to reopen schools in rural areas in Pahang.
"It is to close the gap of learning between children in urban and rural areas.
"Inequality in learning would cause rural children to be isolated," he added.
The conditional MCO has been imposed on almost all states except Perlis, Pahang, Kelantan, and Sarawak, until Dec 6.
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