ONLINE learning in Malaysia, where access to technology and the internet is not equal, is presenting real problems, as parents, teachers and pupils log in to virtual classrooms under the movement-control order (MCO).

National Union of Heads of Schools Malaysia president Wong Shee Fatt said one of the most basic problems is simply the inability to connect to the internet.

The Education Ministry released guidelines on online learning last Friday aimed at easing the adjustment to virtual teaching and learning, allowing teachers the creativity to record their own lessons and use different e-learning platforms.

But other disruptions have cropped up, said Wong, some of which have to do with technology, or human nature, or factors beyond their control.

Some teachers do not have computers. Some children end up not doing their homework because their family of several members have to share one computer.

Some pupils cannot remember passwords or account numbers to log in. And, some teachers cannot be contacted offline because they refuse to share their phone numbers for fear of being bombarded with questions.

Additionally, even if some pupils have online lessons, they do not have the right textbooks or workbooks for homework as these were left at school, which is off-limits under the MCO.

Wong said at his own school, SJK (C) Choong Wen, only 30% of pupils have “attended” online classes since these started last week.

“Schools have to keep sending text messages to parents to get their children to log in and attend the online classes,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

A principal in Johor, Soh Lip Leong, said she was inundated with enquiries from parents after the school said it would conduct lessons online.

“While everyone, from administrators to teachers, tried to answer all the questions raised by parents, there is little we can do if a pupil lives in an area where internet connection is poor,” said the principal of SJK (C) Foon Yew 1.

Soh, who also heads the Southern Johor Chinese School Teachers’ Association, said teachers have the freedom to “choose other ways to guide their pupils”, without elaborating.

A teacher, who wanted to be identified by his surname Li, said he uses Google Classroom for his lessons, but his pupils are not signed on to the platform.

“The outcome is a foregone conclusion. No one logged in.”

A mother of three, who wanted to be known as Souk Ping, said she is disappointed with her children’s teacher, who is “not making it easy” for pupils to participate in online classes.

Although her children’s school offers online lessons, the teacher refuses to share her phone number with parents, and Souk Ping is among those who have no one to turn to for their children’s lessons.

“To this day, the teacher has not given them any lesson. What should I do?”

Unable to deal with the shift online and to answer queries from concerned parents, some schools are forming “media units” to handle questions instead of giving out the head teacher’s phone number, according to anecdotal reports shared with The Malaysian Insight.

The MCO is in force until April 14 to contain the spread of Covid-19, which has claimed 62 lives and infected 3,793 locally. – April 7, 2020.