Parents urge for more organized online lessons during schools closure

By Talaia Mika

APIA, SAMOA – 03 FEBRUARY 2022: Some parents are finding it difficult to follow the Television lessons provided for their children while schools remain closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two mothers of Magiagi said the online learning on television are not well organised and are not related to the assignments given out by teachers to the students.

The 2022 School Year was supposed to start this week. But with the Level 2 Alert in place, the Ministry of Education called all teachers to their schools on Monday this week to prepare lessons and school learning packages for students to be distributed and using Online, TV and Radio broadcasts.

For 56-year-old Tiresa Vaifale Posini from Magiagi, she monitors her children and grandchildren’s school work and their assignments without online nor television learning.

“This television learning is very unreliable. We’re not sure what the exact time it is to come on TV and sometimes it changes channels without prior warning,” she said.

“I was relying on it because I have no understanding of these assignments but after that first experience with the television learning, we stopped relying on TV and I try my best to help my children with their assignments.”

Posini suggests for the Ministry of Education to better explain and clarify the process of online learning and to share with the parents so parents can be able to assist their children under the current climate.

She foresees Online and TV lessons will be a feature for education for a long time in the future due to the pandemic. But she sees the need for better coordination between what’s on air and the students work.  Then there is the issues of access to both internet and TV.

“In reality, we the parents are doing the teachers’ job now and how will our children be able to improve or understand if this is how it’s going to be?” Posini added.

Primary school studying at home under Covid-19 Alert Level 2.

“I’ve heard some parents complain that the assignments are mostly explained in English when they know very well, most parents and children don’t understand English very well.

“I really hope the Ministry will have this reviewed and consider how this is addressed because surely Samoa will encounter more lockdowns in the future.”

Another mother, Rula Tumua said although the closing of schools is an advantage for parents to keep and monitor their children at home, it would also be nice to call parents in for a meeting for parents to better understand how online and television learning works.

“I have a daughter who’s enrolled in the Foundation at NUS this year and I was relieved to hear that she’ll be using that moodle thing to learn online,” she said.

“However, for my children and grandchildren in College and Primary schools, I don’t think it’s working for them.

“All I know is they come with their assignments in front of the television and monitored by my older children and most of the time they play around the house so I’m not so sure how that works for them.”

For her other grandchildren who reside close to her home, their TV set s not working and their mother is monitoring their studies.

Review and parents feedback welcomed
According to the Minister of Education, Seuula Ioane, the Ministry is working on reviewing the online education and also welcomes feedback from parents.

“We’re working on the online and television learning if it has reached all families especially those who reside in the rural areas to see if it’s working for them or not,” he Talamua.

“All I know is that online learning has been established but we’re not sure if its working for everyone so that’s what we want to know at the moment.”

Asked if the Ministry has received any complaints from parents on this issue, the Minister said yes.

The online learning emphasizes the use of the internet for students of all levels to access learning activities and studies while the schools are temporarily closed. Internet access is vital which is paid for by the students.

Other learning activities are televised at a particular time and channel which parents say it is complicated and inconvenient.