PETALING JAYA, Feb 6 (Sin Chew Daily) — After going through two years of online learning from home, the number of students switching from science stream to arts stream has increased compared to previous years, a sign of students’ learning being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Wang Heng Suan said although the education ministry extended the 2021/2022 academic year to February for schools to carry out learning enhancement program (PerkasaKU) to enhance the students’ mastery of knowledge for the academic year, it would still be impossible to achieve the 100% impact.

In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, Wang said the switch could be due to some students and parents seeing arts classes as easier than science.

However, after attending the entire year of Form Four lessons, students switching from science to arts stream will have to complete the homework required for the entire year or they will not be able to sit for SPM, he added.

“Some students who apply to switch from science to arts stream will also face psychological issues and need assistance from counselors or psychiatrists. They are unable to handle the situation under such circumstances.

“The phenomenon appears during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, only one or two students applied to transfer to arts stream. Now the number has increased to more than ten,” he said.

Wang said such phenomenon reflects the setback in online learning.
Some students cannot adjust themselves to online classes, unable to catch up and have lost the drive to learn.

Some other students are not disciplined enough and are unable to focus during online classes.

Citing the example of the school where he is teaching, Wang said initially students were cooperative to switch on the camera when attending an online class. Later they opted not to switch on the camera and did not interact with the teacher.

“Teachers are unable to gauge whether the students are watching movie, playing game or sleeping. For those who switch on their cameras, they still can’t hear the teacher calling them.

Facing the threat of the Omnicron variant, Wang said it was appropriate for the ministry of education to allow students to attend physical classes in batches.

“Students’ motivation to learn is getting lower as they attend online classes for longer period. Teachers are finding it hard to teach. Even if the participation rate of online classes is over 90%, not many are actually attending,” he said.

From a teacher’s point of view, Wang said he hoped students would return to school as soon as possible since they have lost the motivation to learn, while physical classes are more effective in learning.

“Teachers will be assisting the students through PerkasaKU for the next few weeks. In fact, the time allocated is insufficient. If possible, we hope all students will return to school,” he added.

Form Four and Five students have returned to school since January while students from Form One to Three are taking turns to do so.

he attendance rate is more than 90%.