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The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on education in a manner quite unlike the way it has affected the rest of the world. A study done by the American company McKinsey.com on children ages 6 through 17 shows that COVID-19 has undermined both the quantity and quality of learning among these children. Students come from different age groups and grades altogether, but nevertheless, educators face the same inadequacies in the teaching and learning of our own students. We could happily rest on our laurels and say we have successfully risen to the challenges posed by this virus by coming up with alternative and hybrid learning solutions, and then pat ourselves on the backs and say, ‘Well done,’ but we would be lying to ourselves, because, like it or not, unfinished learning is real and its effects threatens our graduates’ learning outcomes and subsequently their skill and professional capabilities, and consequently the potential success of a nation and its economy - yes it is a ripple effect.
As educators and as the premier purveyors of quality global education in Malaysia, we have a responsibility to address this problem with all seriousness. We must do this by reconstructing our educational abilities, by being creative and coming up with new, solid and sustainable ways of teaching. This onus falls on each and every one of you from our academic teams. Anyone who shrugs off this responsibility would be doing a grave injustice to not only your students or your institution, but to yourselves as well – the core values you uphold as tertiary educators. Throughout all this, we must not forget that this pandemic has affected students in many different ways, not only in the stark decrease in the quantity and quality of their learning.
During the lockdowns, the first-ever in their lives, they were all affected psychologically, and for the majority, certainly also financially, which translates into lower quality of lives, which in turn affected their ability to learn and perform to their full potential. Some have even lost members of their family to the corona virus. So now, it is up to us as the leaders and guardians of these students to get down to brass tacks and put our heads together to eliminate, or at least lessen the impact of, unfinished learning.
What are you all going to do about it? According to the article cited here, there are four steps that must be taken.
1. Safely reopen our schools for in-person learning.
This we have managed successfully, thanks to the government’s brave and wise imperative to not take us to another lockdown but instead, continue to take strict measures to fight the spread of the disease head-on.
2. Re-engage students and re-enrol them into effective learning environments.
This is something that requires all your creative efforts. You have to take the reins and ensure that you are all able to engage and re-engage your students in class. You have to make double sure that the learning environment you create is adequate to sustain their interest, to mitigate their losses (both academic and psychological), and to bring their education and their learning up to par again.
3. Support students in recovering unfinished learning and broader needs.
This means covering past grounds that were certainly inadequate, and playing detective to uncover whatever deficiencies they might each have been riddled with. It does not matter what scope this covers. It only matters how much effort you put in and how dedicated you are to right all the wrongs and replace all the missing pieces.
4. Recommit and reimagine our education systems for the long term.
This is the crux of the matter. This is your commitment to MAHSA University, and this will always ultimately fall in-line with our vision to always provide our students with a better future by making sure that firstly, we always become more than we were before, and that ultimately, we help them become more of themselves than they ever thought possible. Pandemic or no pandemic.
With extensive studies being done by prominent agencies and universities around the world, it all sums up the need for education institutions to look into unfinished learning seriously. I believe it is important that a proper analysis is also carried out here at MAHSA to gauge the situation we are in for the benefit of our students and the performance of our faculties, and therefore I request for the academic teams and the relevant committees to proactively focus on the necessary steps in addressing this global matter.