ALL our lives we hear of how quality is better than quantity and that taking the time to do something of high quality will always yield the best results. But this does not necessarily apply to everything we do in our lives, especially in the field of education.
The Buletin Mutiara team interviewed several parents based on the announcement made by the Federal Government yesterday that all primary and secondary school students would return to the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) method when the education session resumes after the school holidays in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri next month.
As much as most of them feel that PdPR is a good move to curb further spread of the infections and to close curtains on any new school clusters, they are saying better efforts should be channelled on how to make the teaching and learning more effective for students.
An individual, who preferred to stay anonymous, welcomed the decision to implement PdPR after the Raya holidays but with one condition – schools need to increase their online teaching hours through the various platforms such as Google Classroom.
“I would like to suggest that schools allocate a minimum of two sessions of one hour each for two subjects daily or even three sessions. It may require extra effort, but I trust more sessions would be more effective.
“Teachers should also adapt interactive classes to create a sense of excitement among students, which can serve as a breather amidst their more difficult and challenging subjects.
“This way, it would also help enhance their learning experience and exposure on other areas apart from just academic-based subjects,” she said during the brief interview session with Buletin Mutiara.
Meanwhile a civil servant, who preferred to stay anonymous as well, is hoping that whatever measures or methods that the Education Ministry implements, it will only bring about good things for the students.
“As for now, with Covid-19 cases striking the schools, it is best for students to stay home and participate in online classes.
“Since this is not a new method among students, maybe the teachers should consider preparing even more creative, fun and engaging contents for the students,” he said.
Another individual who also wanted to stay anonymous said although the likelihood of catching up well in studies is best obtained through face-to-face sessions, PdPR is the way forward during this period with schools making headlines for the wrong reasons again.
The Federal Government had announced yesterday that school holidays during the festival would begin on May 7 to 15 for Group A while May 8 to 16 for Group B. PdPR would begin on May 16 to 27 for those states under group A and May 17 to 28 for Group B.
Students will then get to enjoy their mid-term school holidays from May 28 to June 12 (group A) and May 29 to June 13 (group B).
States under Group A are Kelantan, Johor, Kedah and Terengganu and for Group B are Perlis, Pahang, Sabah, Labuan, Sarawak, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Putrajaya.
Story and pix by Kevin Vimal