Why Students Don't Attend PDPR 2.0

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Out of the 62 Form 5 students under my care, only 9 attended the first live Form 5 #PDPR2.0 online lesson conducted earlier today. Additionally, 5 others who couldn’t attend the live session just did the assignments. For the rest, I have shared the lesson recording + notes in our respective class Telegram groups.


While all my students have access to a mobile device, there are many legitimate reasons for them to miss my online lessons: (1) there is no mobile coverage in their area; (2) their connection is slow; (3) they have started working out of necessity to help support their families; & (4) they must help at home during the hours PDPR 2.0 is conducted.

There are also students who don’t attend online lessons because (1) they aren’t interested in the subject, (2) they don't like the teacher, & (3) they play games until the wee hours of the morning so they can't get up for their education.

Previously, there was flexibility for the teacher to negotiate lesson duration & workload with the students. Under PDPR 2.0, students must attend online classes from 7am-1pm & the workload is determined by a KSSM syllabus that has been simplified for distance learning. It’s robust & systematic, akin to what's done at private schools. However, it’s even more taxing mentally & financially than face-to-face lessons, so student burnout & attrition will be a problem moving forward.

Thanks to the Malaysians from all over our beloved country & even those abroad who have contributed towards supporting my students with their PDPR 2.0 mobile data consumption. Even though, most of my students are unable to participate in PDPR 2.0, I'm hoping that seeing their classmates getting the RM20/month will encourage those who have been playing truant to resurface.

I'm also wondering if I can do more. Do let me know if you have any ideas.

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