Kuala Ketil, July 20 ― Students have been facing many hardships in their studies because of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order (MCO) that has been tightened and extended by the government. Students, especially those living in remote rural areas have to go through lots of inconvenience issues to be able to attend their classes and carry out their assessment given by teachers and lecturers.
Since last year, when the online distance learning (ODL) was first introduced to students in Malaysia, many students were unable to afford the electronic devices needed for their online distance learning due to their financial hardship, particularly because of their family’s loss of income and jobs. Students were forced to face the bitter truth as there was only limited help regarding the issue and some did not meet the requirements even though they are also in need of help.
The matter regarding the internet connection problems and student’s inability to afford data connection for online classes due to financial problems should be taken into consideration too as many are struggling with it and there seems to be no sign of improvement done in the area even after nearly two years dealing with online distance learning. This has been a troubling and concerning issue towards the students in remote and rural areas as it interrupts their studies and classes.
The student’s mental health has become worse as days go by due to stress and depression because of the excessive workload given by lecturers and teachers, and also their feeling of being unable to follow the topic or subject taught during the online distance learning. There have been few cases of students dying from the stress and the immoderate amount of workload given to them which disrupt their everyday life schedule and affect their sleep, eating habits and et cetera.
Thus, the issue concerning students and online distance learning has become an issue that should be taken care of as soon as possible as it involves the student’s abilities and opportunities in learning nowadays. People should keep in mind that there are students dealing with financial problems and are not able to afford the luxury of taking part in the ODL during this deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
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