The directive by the Education Ministry on home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) has been received with mixed feelings by students, parents, and teachers.
While many teachers are grappling with technical issues to normalise teaching through online learning, I am on the view that learning does not have to pivot to online only, especially among preschool and primary school children.
My suggestion is for heads of schools and teachers to check students' socio-economic backgrounds.
With this information, schools and teachers can categorise students based on their families' income groups: T20, M40 and B40.
Teachers can discuss and decide on the best means to deliver teaching and ensure learning can take place remotely.
Ideally, schools should not have only one teaching approach for primary schools.
Give teachers the freedom to decide on innovative yet practical approaches to deliver teaching. Heads of schools and parents should support teachers to adapt to the new reality of remote teaching.
Have trust in teachers as they are doing their best to ensure quality education.
My concern is about some B40 families who cannot afford online learning for their children.
They may prioritise their devices for children who are studying at secondary schools or higher learning institutions. There are now extra costs involved in data plans.
For many B40 families, both parents must work to make ends meet. This means their children may have to skip online classes and get access to mobile devices only when their parents return home.
The children may lose interest to learn in the PdPR set-up as they miss many online classes.
This scenario may require teachers to consider alternative non-online teaching approaches.
I came across a posting about a school in Australia when the first lockdown was in place last year.
The teachers got together and prepared remote learning packages containing lessons and learning materials for two weeks of learning.
Parents were given the option of picking up the packages from school or getting the packages delivered to their homes.
The teachers set up an online meeting with parents to check on the progress of their children on the tasks assigned and discussed problems the students faced. Every fortnight, the children received new packages.
I read a research article where a country in Central America made use of the national radio to reach out to young students in remote areas without Internet connectivity.
The teachers and radio broadcasters cooperated to broadcast lessons.
These are two approaches that can be easily used in our country.
The ministry has renewed TV Pendidikan that is broadcasted on a few channels.
This initiative can be boosted if learning worksheets are provided by schools to enable students to do exercises while watching and listening to TV Pendidikan programmes.
PdPR is indeed the new normal of learning.
While there is no best approach, it is crucial to empower teachers to be innovative to deliver their teaching.
As for parents, it is paramount to support their children in the new learning process.
Guiding the future generation is important. A Chinese proverb says: "All things are difficult before they are easy."
The writer is a senior lecturer, English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times