Dennis Ngau
MIRI: Rural students who do not have access to computer facilities or the internet risk being left behind in the national education landscape during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, cautioned Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
He said the Education Ministry needs to urgently come up with ways and means that would allow these students to be able to continue learning during the MCO.
“If no effort is done for rural students to continue with the learning process, I worry that when examination time comes, these underprivileged rural students with be on an unfair playing field compared to urban kids,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The Education Ministry, in announcing the cancellation of Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) examinations for this year on Wednesday, encouraged schools to adopt home-based learning due to the government’s decision that all schools are to remain closed until after the spread of Covid-19 is effectively overcome.
Also on Wednesday, Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin said his ministry and the state Education Department are working to come up with recommendations to the Education Ministry on how to ensure students in the state can continue with their learning session if schools are to remain closed for a prolonged period due to Covid-19.
He explained this needed to be done as home-based learning cannot be implemented in areas in Sarawak where there is no internet coverage.
Dennis, meanwhile, hoped students take the initiative and make good use of their time at home to revise their lessons while putting extra effort in subjects such as mathematics and science.