With no end in sight yet and the current wave of Covid-19 infections, parents are rightly concerned about the progress of their children’s education.
With likely tighter restrictions and a possible lockdown, it is important to ensure that children’s education is not interrupted if physical classes are canceled.
Online, or even hybrid, classes often lack the critical face to face teachers monitoring and motivation.
Overseas modeling suggests the gap in learning may have widened to seven weeks from remote learning.
Perhaps, we should adopt the New South Wales government (Australia) free small-group tutoring scheme to complement or support existing online or hybrid classes.
Our retired teachers and university students, as tutors, can help to close the remote-learning gap.
More importantly, schools and tutors must work together to discuss issues such as the most suitable tutoring/teaching methods and it’s most effective implementation.
Even if it is held online, this small-group attention and focus can have beneficial outcomes for most students.
Adapting it to our needs-based priority for the B40 and lower end of the M40 population, this government funded tutoring is not so much a cost, but a key necessary investment for the future of our students as these tutors can help bring our students up to speed during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Please note that “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”.
Steve Ngeow Sze Loong
Kajang
