I'm having a discussion with my husband about schools opening up physical classes. I'm a bit torn.
I know my kids school is quite compliant with SOPs and they're strict. I'm pretty sure most of the parents will adhere to the SOPs and ensure they are responsible in ensuring they will follow through the guidelines; if there are any suspicions of any their family members are high-risked and/or have been exposed to the virus, they won't be silly to send their kids to school. I'm quite confident of that.
But what worries me is the other schools who may not be as SOP compliant and/or have irresponsible parents who won't give two hoots about it.
My children are in a private school and had access to online classes. We had some teething problems at the start of MCO, but I suppose that was to be expected. Online classes was a different ballgame all together, not just for the students and teachers, but for us parents too as we had to find ways to ensure there were enough devices and space for all our children to have access to elearning. Not just that, Azmi and I upgraded our internet connectivity and even invested in using a landline so there were no wifi disconnection.
(Poor Iman was reported being absent from class because of the wifi stability in her study area - so we quickly got a contractor to fix that problem in case we had to continue online classes this year)
But that's just it. Our children are blessed with resources to make their elearning experience a pleasant.
Some schools only offer 2-3 hours of classes. Some don't have access to laptops/ tablets and have to resort to their parents phones (like my helper's child -- we got Dina an acer tablet when we found out about her predicament).
Some of my NGO friends (and certain balding politicians) have found ways to ensure marginalised children have laptops to use. But then there is the concern of internet connectivity. Orang di kampung macam mana?
So, I understand the "need" to have physical classes again. As the economy picks up, most parents are working and don't have the luxury of someone to be at home to ensure their kid is doing their classes online. IF they have online classes that is.
But at the same time, there's the debate about whether education is more important than the safety and health of our children.
Such a tricky decision isn't it?
What are your thoughts about this?
https://www.therakyatpost.com/2021/01/04/cmco-sop-january-2021/
