When China reported a rising virus to the world, no one could have predicted the panic it would cause.

The Covid-19 pandemic has over 2,300,000 cases reported across the globe, and the death toll has unfortunately reached more than 160,000 as at the time of writing.

In an effort to flatten the curve, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the temporary suspension of all gatherings including sports, social or religious events.

What does this mean for schools and universities in the country? Well, they are shut down too.

Malaysia

On March 16, it was declared that all educational institutions – public schools, private schools, international schools, public universities and private universities are to be closed for the entire movement control order (MCO) period.

Surprisingly, e-learning was also ordered to be suspended.

Of course, dissatisfaction arose. The shutdown of physical classes is reasonable but online classes are the only solution to ensure that students still receive their education.

If e-learning is shut down too, then it inevitably disrupts the academic calendar.

Unfortunately most universities are totally unprepared for this development. Students are lamenting the lack of action taken by their respective universities, claiming that they are not acting fast enough during these trying times.

Currently, certain universities have only released surveys to gauge students’ perception of e-learning in order to help them implement the instructional method effectively and smoothly once the MCO ends on April 28.

E-learning has emerged as a solution to continuing education

Unofficially though, some lecturers are taking part in e-learning, so that their students aren’t left behind.

What of the students left behind at the campus grounds or living nearby? What action has been taken to ensure their well-being?

For now, universities have been tending to these students by their individual initiative.

International Islamic University Malaysia is currently collecting funds to provide food for students in quarantine.

Universiti Sains Malaysia has also been providing food coupons for students to use at its campus cafes.

This situation requires the government’s support, either by providing funds for universities or by supplying the students with necessities such as food, hand sanitisers and masks.

These students need to be taken care of as much as the rest of the country. Schools are plagued with uncertainties as well. While e-learning is ideal, it is difficult to execute.

There are schools where facilities are hard to come by or where internet access isn’t as easy to find.

What will happen to students once the restricted movement order is over? Is it safe for them to go back to school immediately? Or will the schools, whether prepared or otherwise, need to adapt to online classes?

Malaysia isn’t alone in this predicament, as other countries are also resorting to online classes. Here’s a look at how other nations are approaching the biggest distance-learning experiment ever:

China, Hong Kong and the rest of the world

In China, more than 300 million students are stuck at home trying to navigate the whole online learning gig.

It is, predictably, a learning curve. China has started broadcasting primary school classes on public television and launched a cloud learning platform based on its national curriculum that 50 million students can use simultaneously.

In Hong Kong, the implementation of e-learning is a little different. Students either videocall each other using Google Hangouts to discuss with the class and teachers, or teachers simply post and share video lessons for students to refer to.

In Casalpusterlengo, a northern Italian town, students do their homework using electronic notebooks.

But some schools that lack resources completely forgo online learning.

Instead, the teachers print out stacks of homework for the week and pass them to parents on Monday mornings. Whether these students complete their homework is another matter.

How they are coping with quarantine

Students mourn the social interaction that made schools bearable because now, they are alone, bored and sometimes completely unable to focus.

And the teachers? There’s actually more work for them to reconstruct assignments and homework as well as grading students’ online performance.

The situation is quite clear

For Malaysia, both the government and universities need to work together to ensure that students’ education and basic needs are met.

Thankfully, the country announced its largest economic stimulus package to date, with RM250 billion to be channeled towards supporting people and businesses grappling with the impact from the Coronavirus pandemic.

A one-off payment of RM200 will be allocated to each student in higher education. This aid will be distributed to students in May.

Afterschool.my provides information on higher education including courses, institutions, scholarships, careers as well as other higher education related topics in Malaysia.