Teachers, especially those teaching in rural and remote schools in Sabah, are faced with challenges of ensuring that the online learning and facilitating process (PdPc) runs smoothly during the movement control order (MCO) period.

This is because some of their students, especially those living on islands and plantations, do not have efficient internet access, apart from not having a computer, smartphone or other mobile devices that can facilitate the delivery process of online PdPc sessions.

Aslina Ali, 33, who teaches Geography at a secondary school about 10 kilometres from Semporna, said some of her students who stay in plantations took three to four days to submit their assignments.

In accommodating the constraints facing her students to learn, Aslina said she gave her students a week to complete their assignments.

“I also seek help from students in the class WhatsApp group for them to inform their friends who do not have smartphone or access to the Internet on the school assignments.

Besides the constraints facing her students, Aslina said she would also encounter issues on low internet access when uploading assignments for more than 200 students under her charge.

However, Aslina is committed to conducting the online PdPc sessions using a variety of applications, including WhatsApp, Telegram and Google Classroom.

Sharing Aslina’s problems is Nur Faraheka Abdullah, 28, an English teacher at a primary school in a plantation in Lahad Datu, about 89 kilometres from the Lahad Datu town.

“What I did was to call the students concerned to tell them about their school assignments based on their textbooks. I’ll check their work when the school reopens,” she added.

Another teacher, Siti Aminah Amir, 28, who teaches Islamic Education at a primary school in the interiors of Kunak, said her students’ involvement in PdPC session was very limited because not all of them had internet access.

Siti Aminah said she uses the short messaging system to give assignments to her students using their textbooks as reference. - Bernama

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