KUALA LUMPUR (April 15): The Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) has urged the government to look at digital solutions to bridge the gap among students, given the current situation with the movement control order (MCO), noting the current education system’s lack of digital preparedness.

In a brief, the think-tank’s research manager of social policy unit, Ya Hin Wan, proposed recommendations for two likely scenarios — in the event that the MCO is extended further and when schools reopen.

She identified several challenges to be addressed relating to education, such as the digital gap among students, the education system’s lack of digital preparedness, food access among poor families and the mental well-being of children.

In the event of a further extension, Ya proposed the distribution of devices and for the increase of access to online classes to reduce the digital divide.

“In terms of access, the prerequisite to learn via the online platform would be to have internet and a device such as computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. In urban areas, there are complaints that children have to share devices and they could not fully utilize the lessons online due to slow internet connections or lack of devices. 

“However, in rural and remote areas such as the Orang Asal villages in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, the coverage of the internet is limited. Some villages do not even have access to electricity, or it is very limited for night-time usage,” she said.

Parents would also need to be educated, in order to help provide guidance to the children, as children with parents who are less educated would be left to figure out themselves how to utilise and learn via the platforms.

She also proposed the further expansion of digital lessons through television to provide more classes to children of all ages and throughout the day and for the encouragement of parents to instil learning outside the classroom.

Besides learning, Ya also pointed out that students from poor families are at a higher risk of going hungry during the MCO, given that the livelihoods of poor families are more likely to be affected.

She said this would be the time to reach out to poor families as soon as possible or risk these children going hungry.

When schools are reopened, Ya suggested for the government to consider the improvement of hygiene and sanitation in schools, the implementation of a monitoring and prevention plan to prevent and respond to cases of infection in schools and the expansion of coverage of digital access to include all children in Malaysia in the long term.

“While the Covid-19 pandemic has caught us off guard, the current situation would continue to be the ‘new normal’ for all of us, including our children,” she said.

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