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By Dzulkifli Abdul Razak - -

NOW that not fewer than 4,000 students have criss-crossed the country to "balik kampung" since April 27, it is time to plan how to bring them back to campuses in stages.  

Especially for those who are keen to do so for valid academic reasons. There should not be any more apprehension or doubt in doing so because it basically amounts to just "reversing" the process of sending students home.

All the standard operating produre should remain the same, beginning with the location where the students were dropped off and working backwards,   involving the same locations, agencies and related vendors. Logically, nothing could go wrong if strict adherence to SOP is observed by all concerned.

Why is this necessary? The obvious answer: "no one left behind" (NOLB) this time in the delivery of education. It is appropriate to delve into this as the alert gradually morphs to "green".  Meaning, there is greater elbow room to manoeuvre while focusing on the goal to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission.

Notably, physical distancing, a high level of sanitation and hygiene, as well as remaining vigilant are key. At the same time, social solidarity is kept high with enhanced emotional intelligence. Such an environment is stable and conducive for education, wherever it is conducted. It is for this reason that the movement of students to the "green" campuses must be contemplated immediately.

After all, it is a well-known fact that not all students are privileged in the same way to experience life, thus benefiting from education. Instead, such disparities — no matter how small — can be wide enough to disrupt fairness, justice or equity, and jeopardise the quality of education.

Returning students to campus in this sense is closing the disparity gap as much as possible towards NOLB. Relative to where some of the students live, they represent the cohort who are lagging behind their counterparts through no fault of their own.

Not attending to this need is irresponsible since it perpetuates the case of being unfair and inequitable in clear violation as to what "quality education" demands as argued. There can never a better example in exposing this harsh reality than the discriminate use of technology as the panacea to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Too often we hear the proposition that online learning is the "new" normal moving forward at the expense of everything else, especially the face-to-face (f2f) mode of delivery.

Putting this into perspective, a professor of education, Dr Noor Lide of the International Islamic University Malaysia (NST, April 25) noted: "How do we ensure equity if we use a delivery mode that is accessible only to some and not others, even if they make up a small minority?

"Sensitivity to the needs of all must be considered. We cannot leave behind those who are out of reach and financially challenged, expecting them to catch up once things return to normal. We must give our learners time to adjust to independent self-learning and for our teachers to cope with the new expectations.

"To make education equitable for all, every learner should be ensured access to instructional materials, feedback and support they need to succeed."

Unfortunately, with the mad rush to embrace online learning, several key concerns have been overlooked.

In particular, "real" learning has been missed out; learners' "readiness" for independent self-learning, as well as teachers' wellbeing and readiness for online learning have been ignored by many, including learning institutions that are mandated to "educate" in meeting NOLB. But this is not the case.

What it all adds up to is to enhance preparedness by the time the students return to campus with ample room for creativity and flexibility to tailor-made ones, towards campus health and safety. This needs advanced meticulous planning in ensuring education is not compromised. And indeed, NOLB!

The writer, an NST columnist for more than 20 years, is International Islamic University Malaysia rector

Source: https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2020/05/590493/plan-now-back-campus-trip