LETTERS: THE government, through the Education and Higher Education Ministries, should reduce the financial burden of students.
Inflation and increased prices of goods and services has affected everyone, including students at schools and universities.
The issue is happening all over the world as economies struggle to improve after the lockdowns and disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
While waiting for our economy to recover, it is important to reduce our financial burden.
Employers can have flexible arrangements and allow staff to work from home. Schools and universities can re-implement online teaching.
Online education is not something that is uncommon. For nearly two years since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020, many countries implemented online learning at schools and universities.
Online teaching saves costs.
There is no need for students to spend on transport to go to classes every day, and there no need to buy stationary, uniform, books, bags, and meals
If the government feels that online education is not effective enough to be implemented daily, the government introduce a hybrid system, where class attendance is needed only on certain days.
The ministries should draft a plan to make online teaching part of our education policy at schools and universities.
Though online teaching methods and systems have been developed and implemented for many years by some schools and universities, it has not been fully embraced.
Only when we faced dire circumstances in early 2020 did everybody make use of such methods.
Online education brings many advantages. Course materials are more accessible, schedules are more flexible, and there are more academic options and opportunities to build valuable skills.
While not all courses or subjects are suitable for online learning, there are many that are internationally and nationally accredited. Online education allows the student to attend classes wherever he or she has access to the Internet.
Some classes are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, giving the student a flexible schedule. Some require participation and set times.
Some online programmes cost less per credit hour and there are no transports and meals expenses.
Online teaching also provides the opportunity to build valuable life and professional skills, such as time management and self discipline.
These advantages make online learning the way forward for the education sector.
Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow
Associate Professor
Faculty of Syariah and Law
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times