MOE needs to be more proactive

 ( A slightly edited version, re titled Revolutionise pedagogy at schools, was published in the Sun, 14 June 2021) 

Recent news reports about 20,000+  Covid cases among children and 20+ school clusters have raised alarm and concerns among many, especially parents. With the current surge in Covid cases nationwide and worldwide, it looks like the battle with the virus will be a long haul, as expected. Even though the long-awaited vaccines are now available, and will be administered to all Malaysian soon, it is unlikely that we will be out of the woods in the near future. What’s more, the recent emergence of more contagious and dangerous new variants and mutants only makes the battle more formidable and the future more uncertain. Perhaps it is timely now for all Malaysian stakeholders in education to learn from the past year and seriously re think outside the box, to plan for the re-opening of schools if and when it does happen in July as announced.  

Based on what we have learned since March 2020, we have to start our re thinking with the following premises in mind:

1)      We cannot assume that the pandemic will end soon – even now with the arrival of vaccines and the attainment of herd immunity -- be proactive and prepare for the long haul

2)      We cannot impose complete shutdown of schools for the long term, and assume that most of our students are able to learn effectively online, or that online learning can supplant face-to-face learning in schools

3)      We must change our mind sets to take this crisis as an opportunity to re model schools and  transform education in schools in the real sense

4)      We must take steps so as not to subject the 2021 cohort of SPM, STPM and other examination- class students to the same predicament of their 2020 counterparts

5)      Although the 2020 SPM results seem to suggest an overall improvement rather than a decline as most people expected, we must proceed to analyze the results of the examination in greater details. Such analysis must be done to identify knowledge/skill  gaps which may provide useful information for the re planning and adjustments of school curriculum and tertiary education programs for the 2021 and 2020 cohorts respectively.  

Thus far, complete shutdown of schools seems to be the favorite solution since March 2020,  even at times when circumstances were not as dire as March this year when schools re opened briefly, much to the chagrin or even shock of many. My point is, during the intermittent periods of school opening in that one year, plans could have been in place to re model schools to allow examination class students more access to classroom learning, with other students attending classes on a rotational basis, as this writer has advocated as far back as April 2020.  Will the MOE (Ministry of Education) be willing to try this model when schools are deemed safe to reopen later, in the near future? 

Not too long ago, Sibu succeeded in getting the permission to have their pupils attend schools on a rotational basis. Some independent Chinese schools in peninsular Malaysia did the same since sometime last year. One of them has sufficient resources to divide an examination class of over 40 students into two, with half of them attending the class, while the other half following the same lesson simultaneously in another classroom with a large TV screen. This was done on a rotational basis. If I remember correctly, schools in Germany also implemented rotational schooling since August last year. These were all attempts to ensure social distancing in an over-crowded classroom or school. Without such measures, schools must surely be the most crowded ‘public’ place -- by today’s standard -- other than the morning and night markets?! It is time the MOE seriously think about how to implement rotational schooling as a new norm, to reduce crowding in the classroom and schools in the not so distant future. 

As announced by MOE earlier this year, the complete shutdown of schools nationwide for months on end, will not be repeated this year. Is this good and comforting news for the parents and even teachers? Probably no, especially in schools with high enrolment of one to two thousand students or more, and classroom with more than 40 students, which is not uncommon in many vernacular schools. Thus, rotational schooling is certainly worth serious consideration if we have to adopt the new norm of reducing students’ exposure to viral load, avoiding crowd and maintaining social distancing.  

MOE has talked about plans to build more classrooms or provide better internet access and devices to schools and students, but all these involve high cost and are not achievable in a short time. Relying on the PdPR (home-based learning) guidelines and the less than adequate DidikTV  programs is certainly no solution too for the majority, as we have learned.

Should we then continue the hype of online learning, and lull ourselves into believing that it is indeed the best and only solution, regardless of what survey data have told us about the lack of accessibility to devices and broadband among the majority of our 5 million plus students in schools? The ad hoc distribution of 150,000 devices will certainly not help close the digital divide between the haves and have-nots. In fact, the majority of students who have missed out on learning during the school shutdown last year are not confined to those in the B40, they also include many of the M40. Unfortunately, these parents have no voice, their complaints are seldom, if ever heard.  

Frankly, to say that the public is disappointed with the lack of foresight and planning by our MOE is an understatement. If only they have heeded opinions and suggestions from various stakeholders in the past year, they could have acted proactively then to minimize disruption in schooling, and will be better prepared this year. As mentioned above, as far back as April last year, in newspapers and social media, this writer has advocated that MOE make plans to revolutionize and transform teaching-learning in schools, to re model schools for the long term. I would like to reiterate here ideas shared then:

1)     In the worst case scenario without any better alternatives in sight, students should go to schools on alternate days or on a rotational basis, to reduce class size for social distancing. This sounds unthinkable, even unacceptable to many, but desperate time needs desperate measure. Each class can be split into two groups with the teacher repeating the same lesson to them on two separate days. This way, students can at least learn something in schools, albeit maybe half of what is supposed to be learned in the syllabus. Otherwise, as has happened last year, without an inclusive online and e-learning strategy, even with the much vaunted PdPR and DidikTV, majority of the students are whiling away their time at home.

2)     All is not lost in the above scenario as learning can still be optimized to match the conventional 5-day classroom teaching, if teachers are able to use blended learning and the flipped classroom approach effectively. Lessons are properly planned whereby students are given a variety of learning materials for directed reading or activities and/or assignments to complete at home for one day. This is followed by face-to-face interactions and discussion—where real learning is said to take place -- the next day in the classroom. This way, it is possible to condense two days’ lessons into one day in the classroom and one day at home. The devil is in the details for creative teachers to figure out how best to achieve this goal.

Needless to say, now is actually the time to revolutionize and transform teaching-learning for the long term. The MOE should have made plans to upskill teachers for online and e-learning not only in terms of technology, but more so in pedagogy. Master teachers should have been identified to help  develop content in PdPR to build a repository or library of resources (e.g. sample lesson plans) for e-learning and online learning to support blended learning and the flipped classroom approach, which can effectively improve the quality of learning and at the same time reduce face-to-face classroom teaching through a rotational schooling system.

3)     From April last year till now – more than one year later – if only each class teacher has collected detailed information about his students’ access to devices and broadband, such vital information can now be used to re-organise and re-shuffle all classes:  Students with adequate access to devices and broadband can be re-grouped into a class under the tutelage of teachers who are savvy in both the technology and the pedagogy of online teaching-learning. These students can opt to stay away from school for online and e-learning from home (PdPR), with occasional face-to-face classroom sessions with their teachers, and practical work in the laboratories. They can free up physical space in the classroom for their classmates – who have no means for engaging in online learning – to continue with the conventional classroom teaching-learning with other teachers.

The above suggestions are only general ideas which are to be mixed and matched, or modified according to differing circumstances in different schools. Primary and secondary schools are different, and urban schools definitely vary from rural ones. No top down single approach from the MOE will work for all, one size doesn’t fit all. How these ideas are to be mixed and matched or optimized will depend much on the ingenuity, creativity and problem-solving skills of each individual teacher under the leadership and organizational skills of the school principal and his core senior or master teachers. Needless to say, schools must be given some degrees of autonomy in implementation and operation, perhaps with the oversight and support of state and district education departments.   

As of now, students sitting for the SPM and STPM examinations by end of 2021 are already complaining that they are not well prepared because of the lost year of learning in 2020. Although the MOE has announced that these examinations will be postponed to February and March 2022, will this deferment help much if a plan is not in place now to make up for the missed classes and learning during the lost year? Flipped classroom and blended learning may well be the answer for accelerating learning to make up for missed lessons in 2020, with rotational schooling to reduce class size and overcrowding when and if schools reopen. In short and in conclusion, schools must now be re modelled to transform education, not just during this pandemic, but right into the future.