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Online and distance learning for students: Pandemic education still a challenge   

23 May 2021

By Sarah Hannan     As schools across the country continue to be closed in order to safeguard students from contracting the Covid-19 virus, children are once again forced to continue their studies using online or distance-learning methods.   Even after a year of the pandemic, it is learnt that these methods of education are not carried out successfully, especially with a majority of students not having access to the necessary tools or internet facilities. Education trade unions note that from the 10,174 schools in the country, online education methods are somewhat successfully conducted only in about 2,000 schools that are in the category of 1AB. Even from that 2,000, only about 60% of the schools have been able to consistently conduct online lessons. If we are to look at the overall school system, that means only less than 10% of the schools have been successfully conducting online lessons for schoolchildren.  According to Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin, switching to online and distance learning has not only affected students in the rural schools but also most students in urban schools as well.    Problems posed to teachers, students, and parents   When The Sunday Morning contacted Stalin to inquire about the present situation faced by students in rural schools located in remote villages, he noted: “Minister of Education Prof. G.L. Peiris as well as Ministry of Education Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera, have both admitted that online education methods are not effective. But the problem is that they continue to issue directives to teachers to continue delivering lessons using such methods.”  Stalin further noted that certain directors from the zonal and divisional education offices are threatening teachers stating that if they fail to conduct online lessons, their salary increment letters would not be signed, pointing out that it is unfair by the teachers, as they have not been provided with the necessary equipment or with the necessary internet data facilities to conduct lessons. “Moreover, teachers have not even been given training to conduct online lessons. We had two Covid-19 waves during which these pain points could be addressed, but that has not taken place so far. In a popular school in Colombo, teachers are requested to share lessons using WhatsApp from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and they have been asked to conduct lessons through Zoom from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.,” Stalin added.  Speaking about the situation in rural schools, Stalin noted that the situation is even worse. For instance, if there are three children in a family and lessons are to be conducted in the present manner, these three children will need three phones.  “What we have also observed is that many parents are even inconvenienced by phone shops, as they are charging them exuberant amounts to obtain printouts from their phones of the assignments that are being shared through WhatsApp and to even install or configure the apps that are used for online education,” Stalin added.    Ground realities   Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, Mahinda Rajapaksa College Homagama Head of Information and Communication Technology Piyumali Jayasuriya noted that the pandemic had presented them with an advantage to deliver lessons to students through technology-based distance education. “Learning content was shared through WhatsApp groups. Not only did we send assignments, but we used this method to implement alternative learning methods as well. We are currently in the third phase of this technology to educate children. That’s through dual-way communication. We provided as much as we could to the children who did not have these technological tools. We also provided that facility for children who do not have internet facilities. But there are some practical problems here. It is difficult to involve students who do not have the direct supervision of a teacher in the classroom. Therefore, this distance education is not 100% successful.”  However, Kaikawala Junior School Meemure Principal Gamini Abhayaratne had a completely different story to tell.  “Our children have no technology at all to do these things. But we did not give up. The lessons were written by our teachers and distributed to the children's homes. But that too is not that successful. We do not have the facility to photocopy these. Several teachers came to our school and tried to do this from the school computers. But they are very old.”  Abhayaratne also noted that the village has no access to internet and that there are no telephone facilities in the homes of children in the villages and that there are about 15-20 such remote schools in the Ududumbara Education Division.  “Also, the children who come to the high schools in this province come from remote villages. Therefore, distance education for these children is only a dream. Teachers want to do it but there is no way to do it. We are helpless in front of parents and children. Although we provided photocopies, the children did not have the telephone facilities to contact us to clarify lessons or assignments,” Abhayaratne explained.    Attempts at tackling the issue   The Ministry of Education has, in the meantime, taken measures to regulate online and distance learning methods with the Ministry, looking at introducing single timetables zonal-wise, provincial-wise, or island-wise, that will function during regular school times between 7.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m., from Monday through to Friday, from grade three upwards.  Ministry of Education Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera stated: “We understand that in different households, there would be difficulties such as when one device will need to be shared between the siblings who are in different grades. To address these difficulties, we have the lessons delivered through the Gurugedara television programme and the E-Thaksalawa online learning platform.”  For children in schools in areas that lack technological facilities, the teachers are to ask the parents to visit the schools and collect the learning materials for exercises and assessments, and then hand them over, upon completion, to the teachers, on a particular day.   Moreover, the Ministry is looking at obtaining feedback from the subject directors in the divisional education offices and at the ministerial level, so as to monitor the progress of the number of students attending the online classes, their level of achievement, the delivery of lessons, the learning outcomes of a particular topic, and the completion of exercises and assessments.     


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