Ever since it was announced that all schools in Malaysia would close again and online lessons would resume, it’s safe to say that most teachers AND students were probably not in a rejoicing mood. For teachers, it meant preparing materials and spending most of their time just making sure their students are online.
For students, on the other hand, they would have to struggle to secure a strong Internet connection while also finding a functioning laptop or computer. We’ve read incidents of parents struggling to afford a laptop or smartphone for their kids and having to resort to desperate measures. This grandfather from Johor actually damaged his health trying to buy a laptop for his grandson just to help in his online studies.
To save money for a second-hand laptop and internet, these grandparents from Segamat started cutting corners, borrowed money from others and even stopped buying their medicines. Unfortunately, as a result of this, the grandfather passed out and suffered from a stroke after not taking his medicine for many days.
According to Sin Chew Daily, a teacher from the grandson’s primary school offered to ask help from a charity organisation but the grandfather declined saying there are other families out there more in need of help.
The teacher, Liu, advised that online learning has left many families under pressure to purchase Internet and laptops for their children to study. “The Education Ministry has to flexibly deal with the Internet issue and consider what some families go through,” Liu said.
While the grandfather was hospitalised, the grandmother had to take care of him and the child was placed under someone else’s care. Liu added that the school told the grandfather if the grandson misses any more online classes, his grades would be seriously affected. The boy’s parents were working in Singapore and lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, they’re struggling themselves in Singapore for food and accommodation thus there’s no way they can come back to Segamat and buy a laptop for their son. Liu shared on her Facebook hoping that other teachers would understand when some students can’t attend to their online classes.
However, Liu said that she doesn’t wish to blame teachers in this situation as they are also learning to adapt to a completely new situation. “When a problem like this occurs, instead of playing the blame game, let’s focus on solving it,” Liu said.
We hope the grandfather has a speedy recovery! This pandemic hasn’t been easy on anyone, if there was ever a time to show kindness, it’s now.
Also read: Budget 2021: 150,000 Students Will Be Getting Free Laptops To Help With Online Learning
