the ministry of education has warned schools, both government and private, in the strict sense of the word, that schools violating the orders issued by the ministry will face legal consequences – if they open the doors of the schools during what it called the ‘forced’ closure – an act necessitated by the outbreak of the coronavirus but not if drugs are sold or obscene material is distributed on their premises but warned against adopting the ‘distance learning’ system online, stressing whoever violates this will expose himself/herself to accountability.
educational sources said some schools, personally judging the current situation, (as reported by the al-anba daily ) opted for the ‘distance learning’ method but this was met by grumbling from some parents.
it is strange the ministry gave in to the objections raised by a few and decided to ban this scientific and advanced method of teaching in emergency situations because some ‘saints’ complained. what would the ministry do if a majority of the parents did not complain?
the ministerial decision can be seen as ridiculous and unjustified. the ministry has taken the cover of the decision issued by the council of ministers to ‘shut’ the school doors and this is more ridiculous and deplorable. the cabinet issued a decision for fear of the coronavirus spreading among children since the virus is prone to spread fast particularly if big numbers of people gather in one place, and we thank the cabinet because the decision looks logical on the surface of it, but the cabinet decision did not ask the ministry to disable ‘distance learning’.
if the level of education in the country did concern the education officials, they would have encouraged this method and even defend it in front of the council of ministers (if the latter had made an attempt to ban it), and not pay attention and give in to the whims of a few who groan about distance learning. the state cannot be managed by caving into complaints from some and resentments of others.
countries such as australia and canada have been adopting and encouraging distance learning for more than a century. it is a system used vast and densely populated nations such as india and china for decades and has been largely successful.
i tried to contact the undersecretary responsible for issuing this decision, and i sent him a message but i did not receive any response, so i had to write this article. the tone of the threat has stinks of ‘backwardness’, and it is an uncivilized decision which is very surprising, and it could be said, for example, that it supports distance learning, but cannot substitute it for classroom education, albeit temporarily.
what is the fate of the scholastic year if the ‘shutdown’ is indefinite? and why not leave the decision to every school, especially private schools?
the ministry of education, during the reign of the honorable minister badr al-essa, had allowed ‘distance learning’ with the intention for the student and his family to communicate with the school administration and the teacher at all times, especially during the student’s absence from school for any reason.
unfortunately, the unscrupulous teachers do not like this system, for reasons well-known to them. also, some families do not have the time or the desire to pursue their children’s education. moreover, this system can be seen as a kind of state-of-the-art ‘technology’ if we can call it that, which is in a state of development, which is why the backward school administrations do not support it.
the ministry of education could have explained and clarified the issue of distance learning in a more logical manner instead of outright refusal and using the ‘whip’ and ‘hedging’ behind the cabinet decision and succumbing to the ‘murmuring’ of a few who know nothing about distance learning or how this system works because most of these people do not desire to ‘wake a sleeping lion’.
this is what happens in the corridors of the ministry of education which is suffering from administrative ‘chaos’. the current undersecretary is a temporary ‘hire’ and has been complaining of a shortage of assistant undersecretaries, and the posts district administrators have been vacant for months since the minister is reluctant to take decisions and does not answer calls or communicates in this regard.
in my opinion, we must give a thought to smart education or distance learning because it will soon become a trend all over the world since school and university buildings will not suffice to meet the future needs of the world. as for korea, it has implemented this method with high efficiency, and its system is the most advanced in the world.