Kuala Ketil, 15 August ― Taman Desa Bidara has been under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) since 31st July 2021 and it has also been extended until 27th August 2021 due to the massive amount of people getting infected by the Covid-19 virus, making it a month long of EMCO to the residents.
Most of the residents residing in Taman Desa Bidara have expressed their concern towards the issue of an immense amount of the residents living there getting infected by the Covid-19 virus, which has led the area into being under EMCO, also known as the red zone and thus, this has affected many students living in the area.
Due to the EMCO, the resident's movements have been restricted and they are not allowed to leave their house except for emergency purposes to make sure the Covid-19 chain in the area can be broken. This has led to the students being unable to fully participate in their online distance learning (ODL) as they are incapable of getting the required necessity for their classes, especially for practical classes that require the students to create or interact with objects.
‘My daughter has been feeling down as she was supposed to send a video of her sewing sequins on the handkerchief to her teacher for her class activity, but due to the EMCO, she was not able to participate in the activity unlike her classmates. We are not able to buy the things needed for her class activities too because most of the stores are located outside of the EMCO area,’ said a mother of a middle school student.
As all activities cease and have been restricted, students start to express their concern on the issue as it keeps troubling their studies. Students are not able to buy necessary things needed for their online classes and thus has made them unable to actively participate in the classes as others. Some of the students living in the EMCO area mentioned that they are not able to fully understand what has been taught by the teachers during classes due to the poor internet connection in their residence. They also mentioned that normally they have their online classes in a public and open area for a better internet connection but they are not able to do that as usual due to them living in the EMCO area.
The Courier, Express and Parcels (CEP) services are all not allowed into the EMCO area, making it harder for students to buy things related to their studies and thus making the students unable to keep up with their classes and studies. This has lowered the student’s interest in learning, especially those in middle school as they might feel left out during the class period due to them not being able to participate actively as other students.
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