LETTERS: Recently, it was announced that the first students to return to school will be those sitting for major examinations this year. They include Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, and other national and international examination candidates.

For them, school will reopen on June 23. For the rest, no dates have been fixed yet. However, many are already speculating. And going by the views on social media, the biggest worry is health safety.

Parents, especially, are concerned about their children's safety, even after all the assurances given by the authorities. There is no denying that fear is the single most important issue.

The fear factor is not just felt among parents and teachers, but more so with the Education Ministry and the government. All it takes is just one breach of the SOP for new cases of Covid-19 to resurge.

The Health Ministry is referring to the resurgence as the third wave of pandemic. Many are reminded of the 1918 Spanish Flu, which rattled global health.

According to records, it was the second and third wave that led to more fatalities than the first. The other concern is that Covid-19 may not be the last scourge to hit the world.

There may be more coming. This pessimism is grounded on the fact that we have, in recent years, been callous in handling the natural sources of unknown and potentially virulent microbes. Such practice, coupled with the growing interest to venture into biological weaponry, will keep increasing the risk of another pandemic.

Since crowding is unavoidable at schools, they are potential hotbeds for spreading infectious diseases.

It is time we relook at the planning of future schools. Many education experts share the view that future learning should be built on a crowd-free system.

Online learning is undoubtedly a crowd-free system. Students attend classes in the safety of their homes. So do the teachers. The chances of infection is almost nil and during the Movement Control Order, some schools have used online platforms to engage students, both in teaching and giving assignments.

Unfortunately, there have been widespread deficiencies in Internet connection. Most relate to poor clarity of messages and frequent noise interferences. The weaknesses are not insurmountable.We need to do three things.

First, we have to invest in a superior broadband system covering the entire country. Both urban and rural areas should enjoy the same speed to upload and download files. This is not happening now. Rural students are deprived of good Wi-Fi facilities.

Second, both teachers and students must be trained to use the platforms. Schools must follow a programme to build a vibrant e-learning culture. There is so much knowledge online, but overall, students are not truly utilising them.

And third, local scientists must be given funding to improve current platforms, or even build new ones. The demand for e-learning is expected to boom in coming years.

Professor Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim

Fellow Academy of Science, UCSI University

https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2020/06/601655/e-learning-way-forward