The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is gradually reshaping Bangladesh’s education system. Educators and students should make the most of it, and should continue using technology as a tool of teaching and learning.
Madiha Murshed, managing director of Scholastica Ltd and a director of the Gemcon Group, made the statement in the latest episode of “Straight Talk with Zafar Sobhan” on Wednesday night.
“Now that we are all forced to use these online tools, we are learning a lot about them,” she said. “I hope we will hold on to this, because these things make teaching far more effective.”
Pointing out the limitations of online learning in Bangladesh, Madiha said that online classes were sometimes not very interactive.
The teachers, too, are learning how to use the new technologies to take online classes, she added.
On top of that, teachers feel pressured as the students’ parents remain present during the online classes, she further said.
Dhaka Tribune Editor Zafar Sobhan said a “one-size-fits-all” education system is never a good model, and the online education system has brought an opportunity for students to learn at their own pace.
“We should see this crisis as an opportunity, because it is forcing us to accelerate in a direction we needed to go anyway,” he added.
Madiha said that while there is too much debate about when it is the right time to reopen schools, the focus should rather be on what is the right way to reopen them.
“We should focus on how, not when,” she said.
Several studies have shown children have better chances of surviving Covid-19.
But even if a small percentage of children are dying due to the deadly virus, the authorities concerned should not take the risk of reopening schools without an effective strategy, Madiha said.
