Citizens call for online classes for students during Ramadan: Report
NT Bureau
Doha: Several citizens, including educational experts, have called on the Ministry of Education to conduct online classes during the holy month of Ramadan for students or at least for three days per week, especially in view of the success of the implementation of online classes in 90 schools in the past few weeks.
Speaking to Al Raya newspaper, parents said online classes will contribute to alleviating the burden on students and parents during the holy month, and reduce absenteeism which happens during the month.
They pointed out that online classes will also help reduce traffic congestion on the roads during peak hours, saying this can be implemented for middle and high school students, and partially for primary school students, given their need to listen to teachers and follow the lessons directly.
“Going for the distance learning system during the holy month will contribute to alleviating the burden on students and parents, due to the difference in sleeping hours, as well as traffic congestion in the morning and the overlap of work hours with the start of school hours,” Zakaria Al-Majed, a parent, told the paper.
“Students and teachers – in addition to administrative staff – will find this more convenient for the learning process, especially since it saves two hours a day between waking up and going to school and returning home, which can be used by the student more creatively,” he added.
Engineer Muhammad Al-Kuwari said: “We all know that in-person learning system is better for students, but that does not prevent us from considering it during the holy month of Ramadan.”
Muhammad Saeed Al-Ghadid, a parent, said: “The difficulty always lies in the student’s preparation to go to school and it takes about an hour and a half between waking up and getting ready.”
Educational expert Aisha Murad stressed the importance of excluding primary students from the distance learning system if it is implemented during Ramadan, due to the need for that age group for physical follow-up from teachers inside the classroom, and due to students’ lack of skills to use technology on their own without help from parents.
