Offline classes kick off in full swing across schools in Bahrain
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Offline classes began in full swing across schools in Bahrain today though online classes are still available for those students seeking them.
Students were excited to attend offline classes after a long gap of two years caused by the pandemic.
Speaking to The Daily Tribune, a private school teacher said: “After two years of distance learning, which was challenging for children, parents, and teachers alike, the willingness to go back to normal learning processes is now demonstrably quite high. Only a minuscule minority are opting for online classes.”
Devika Ramshankar, a class VII student at one of the community schools in Bahrain, said online classes were really boring and uninteresting. “I have really become desperate to meet my friends and teachers, play and chat with them in person.
“I have not met many friends for two years now. Some have even left the country. I really miss the fun we used to have at the school. I hope the good days are returning.”
The Daily Tribune earlier reported about many parents getting concerned over their children losing social skills after attending online classes for longer periods.
The report quoted Dr Manoj Kurian Philip, Consultant Ophthalmologist at American Mission Hospital, who said parents must ensure that their children are having their eyes protected amid these increasingly continuing online classes.
“Headaches, eye pain or bloodshot eyes are no longer adult disorders after extensive online sessions. Even the children are facing similar health scenarios after being subjected to online classes for over one-and-a-half years now.”
A separate report published by The Daily Tribune highlighted the plight of teachers caused by online classes.
“At least ten hours a day, we are glued to our smartphones or laptops, taking classes or answering queries on WhatsApp apart from giving out assignments and notes. We have to record video lessons, which is not easy as we are teaching an imaginary audience,” a teacher had said.
“I personally know many teachers who have gone through psychological trauma during this period. Unfortunately, they have no spokespersons in any of the social quarters to stand up and speak at their behest.”
Another teacher said that throughout the pandemic period the members of her community were totally unsuccessful in striking a balance between personal life and professional life. “There is hardly any minute left to focus on personal life as we are always engaged in a non-stop cycle of planning, preparing, recording, assessing and so on.”
Earlier, the Ministry of Education said that private schools can decide on their own with regard to offline classes in consultation with the parents.
“It is up to the private schools to decide in consultation with the parents over conducting offline classes,” a ministry official said.
The official said that parents definitely have a choice to send their children to schools or receive online education.
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