Advertisement
Education
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Lessons in flexibility required at schools

  • Students will continue to learn online as a new year of classes begins, but preparations must be made should face-to-face tutoring resume and examinations need to be adjusted

2-MIN READ2-MIN
A teacher and students wearing hats designed for space keeper, practice social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Photo: AP
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
When given a choice, students probably want to go back to school rather than continue with online classes. The latter have become the new normal for learning during the Covid-19 epidemic, except in early summer when a brief respite reopened the window for classes on campus. But with the daily infection figures still hovering at an uncomfortably high level, the ban on face-to-face teaching and other on-campus activities in the new academic year is to be expected. But there needs to be better support for online learning as well as adjustments made to school assessments and examinations.

The decision by the Education Bureau is a necessary step to help curb the latest wave of the outbreak that struck in July. It has also ended any uncertainty, with the school year starting this month as scheduled. The requirement to teach online also applies to private tutorial centres and kindergartens until further notice. Even though youngsters are raised knowing how to use tablet computers these days, making a three-year-old sit in front of a screen for long periods is another matter. The appeal by education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung for kindergartens to also focus on worksheets and books therefore makes sense. It comes at a time when some parents have stopped sending toddlers to classes or cancelled online tutorials. Whether such actions will inflict a serious blow to the business of tutorial centres and kindergartens remains to be seen.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x