Education Beyond COVID 19

EDUCATION BEYOND COVID-19

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Earlier this year, we were living our lives to the fullest; going for a vacation overseas, celebrating birthdays and weddings with all of our loved ones, and meeting family and friends anywhere, anytime.

        Today, everything has changed. The outbreak of Covid-19 turns the world almost upside down. Originally from Wuhan, China, now the virus has spread all over the world causing the largest pandemic ever witnessed in human history since 1918. Everybody is paranoid when it is known to the public that the virus is highly contagious and when infected, it will lead to death. As a result, several countries including Malaysia started to execute lockdown or similar actions such as curfew, quarantines and restrictions to prevent the virus from spreading.

Now, the whole world is affected. People are prohibited from going anywhere as they please. Facemask and hand sanitizers as well as disinfectant are seen everywhere. We are prisoners of our own home, but for good causes. Luckily, living in the 21st-century era, we are able to digitalized our life almost fully. Meetings and classes are held online. Everything is done from home- business, work, studies, and even buying groceries.

            EDUCATION THEN VS NOW

    How crazy to think that only a few months ago, we were eating lunch with our friends and classmates on the same table, probably discussing about the upcoming assignments. We went to class together, and even had a sleepover to finish the task given by our lecturers. We were attending programs even only half-heartedly as they were usually held on weekends and we did not want to leave the cosiness of our beds. How time flies!

    But now, we are all alone in our own rooms, only capable of contacting each other via online platforms and social media. As a student myself, my studies are majorly affected due to the pandemic. I believe I am not only speaking for myself, but also for all students in Malaysia. There are so many challenges to overcome not only for us, but also the educators and the education sector as a whole.

    Firstly, the issue of internet connection. Different places has different strength of coverage and connection to the internet. Thus, it is very frustrating when students fail to join a class or keep getting disconnected from the meeting. This is very likely to happen to students who are living in a village or rural areas. It is totally frustrating when students feel like they are left behind in certain subjects, causing stress and anxiety. 

Other than that, coming from different backgrounds, not all students are capable of securing a fast internet at home as some of them could not afford to have Wi-Fi or broadband. They have to buy data plans weekly or monthly and the amount of internet is limited. Some students also do not have a suitable environment to study. Furthermore, there are so many distractions and focusing on classes can be very difficult. 

So, what are we expecting from this problematic situation? Are we capable of solving these problems or we just simply dive into a deep dark ocean with no air to breathe, and feeling suffocated?

    Fortunately, Ministry of Education are aware of the problems faced by the student all over Malaysia. Thus, there are various initiatives done alongside the institutions and educators to ensure that the quality of our education is guaranteed and maintained. However, I believe that the most important thing along the journey of online classes is the value of empathy of the educators and the capability of understanding the situation of their students. I am sincerely amazed at the support shown by our educators in ensuring everybody will be on the same pace and track. In short, everybody is struggling to adapt. Yet, the level of effort poured by every parties in handling this new norm is outstanding.

FUTURE HOPES IN EDUCATION

    Five or ten years from now, our education system might be different. I believe it will. We might be constantly using AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) in our daily classes without feeling awkward or lost. Our generation is the peak of technologies, and it will always ascend to something even greater in the future.

My hopes for our education system are one day, we will be ready in facing any challenges such as this sudden pandemic without any worries and hesitations. Other than that, I surely hope that the education sector will be capable of ensuring not only the quality of the education, but the mental health of the student as well. Changing is not easy, but necessary. The sudden change in teaching and learning sessions surely brings negative effects to the overall health of students. Thus, I hope that this issue will be highlighted.

Let us all pray for the best, and strive even harder than before!