Case Study

Education sector hard hit in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global public health emergency of international concern on Jan 30, 2020 as well as a pandemic on March 11 the same year. In reaction to the outbreak of Covid-19, the government of Malaysia imposed a nationwide lockdown known as the movement control order (MCO) on March 18, 2020. The MCO not only restricted movement but enforced the closure of all non-essential premises, including colleges and universities, whether public or private. As per the orders given by the federal government and the Higher Education Ministry, higher education institutions switched to online distance learning modes, rescheduled ongoing exams and assisted their students online regularly until further notice. Many higher education institutions cautiously rushed to shut down their campuses so that students could follow social distancing measures, and almost immediately switched to online modes of delivery. This rapid transformation is linked to various obstacles and challenges at this point. The fact is, nobody knows when this pandemic will disappear completely. Therefore, for the short-term and immediate resolution, many higher education institutions decided to use the already available technical resources to create online learning materials for students in all academic fields. That being said, moving smoothly from an environment of conventional education to distance and virtual learning cannot happen overnight. In theory, not having physical classes and activities on campus seems ideal as the risk to exposure and spreading of Covid-19 can be reduced with the avoidance of crowds forming and with students learning from the comfort of their homes. But what is the experience like in reality? Like many other aspects of daily life, Covid-19 had a serious impact on students, instructors, and educational organizations in Malaysia. Some students may lack the motivation and have less interest to follow through with lessons conducted online, due to a lack of self- discipline or because they prefer face-to-face learning. Online learning provides students with the flexibility to learn at their own time, in their own space and, to an extent, at their own pace. However, some students will also be experiencing problems asking questions, especially those who have difficulties speaking out in a crowded environment, both face-to-face and online methods. This may contribute to lack of clarity and understanding on the online lesson. In addition, some students have poor internet access in their hometowns while some home environment is not conducive for online lessons learning. Due to this, it is difficult for them to assess online lectures, assessment and also discussion. Tardiness or absenteeism are also issues contributed by poor internet problems - slow, unstable, or worse still, unavailable especially in rural area. Even with the internet, some students may have limited access to devices for learning, such as laptops and smartphones. Students have to rely on their parents' devices. Learning is disrupted as they can use the devices only after their parents completed their work. On another spectrum, there has been few challenges for the educators too. Firstly, some higher institutions may not be well prepared to cater their lecturers with proper devices such as sound proof mic and laptops to ensure lesson quality delivery. As such, online lesson is conducted with interference from surrounding noises contributing to learners discomfort especially for a huge class. Secondly, not all lecturers are IT-savvy. A few may know of applications that can make lessons interesting and interactive, but some do not even know howto use online conference software such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Thirdly, the curriculum materials prepared might not be of high quality. Materials developed for physical class understanding and may not be effective in learning in an online context. These factors had contributed towards students' learning experience and enrolment too. Virtual learning, while beneficial to a certain extent, could never replace the hands-on experience and peer-to-peer interaction in classrooms and laboratories. Inability to have a physical class experience due to movement restrictions enforcement have greatly affected the student enrolment. Virtual classes cannot be of interest to students who are kinaesthetic-tactile learners. Conventional classroom socialization is another major part missing in online learning. Students can only communicate with their fellow classmates digitally without seeing them in person. Thus, the real-time sharing of ideas, knowledge, and information is partially missing from the online learning method which has affected the quality of their studies significantly. While digital education is clearly the way forward for higher educational institution there are costs for both students and institutions. Going digital incurs higher expenditure from software applications, hardware, cybersecurity features as well as subscription fees. Pandemic has challenged private education providers to redefine and strengthen their value proposition at a time when parents are more price sensitive, with many schools being forced to rethink their cost structure and to be more strategic in the prioritization of resources. No doubt that the enrolment at tertiary education institutions had been impacted following the delay in sitting public examinations, Movement Control Order (MCO), border controls due to the pandemic as well as reduced or lost household income. The education system has been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and experts are urging more aggressive measures to prevent a lost generation of students and undergraduates. Education institutions are being put to the test. Amid the accelerated shift of learning to virtual platforms and channels in the past year, the institutions that have scored well are those that pass the test of agility, so crucial in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although pedagogically online learning is not as effective as the conventional face-to-face learning, it is however, arguably the best solution or perhaps the only mode of delivery for the education industry and it has proven helpful in safeguarding the students' and faculty's health amid the pandemic. Therefore, in order to ensure the effectiveness of online learning in Malaysia, education institutions now have to cope with the current situation. Institutions who were quicker to shift performed better and those who were slow to change or who are unable to offer remote learning have suffered greatly. Many have not survived the pandemic