Distance education will bring about ‘failure of generation’
‘Two-side coin which has its benefits and harm’
KUWAIT CITY, March 3: According to the latest statistics issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information until the end of December 2020, the total number of students in Kuwait was 440,578, of whom 262,822 are Kuwaitis.
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to disrupt normal life for more than a year, the Al-Seyassah daily got the feedback from parents and specialists on several questions such as the benefits and harms of distance education and the negative effects on the resources of private schools who indicated that distance education alone will lead to the failure of the current generation after graduation.
All those who the daily spoke to stressed on the importance of implementing the two direct education systems, along with distance education, in order to protect the educational process in Kuwait.
A Kuwaiti, who identified himself as, A.A., says he supports the continuation of distance education, as long as it protects the health of his children in light of the increases Coronavirus infection cases which, he says, is much more important than going to school. He explained his three children receive education online and for him there is no difference between learning in school and at home.
However, another Kuwaiti S.K. has different views. He believes distance education will damage the future of the current generation and said after graduation they will be a failure because distance education does not stimulate the minds of the students to actively and energetically receive knowledge, and called on the state to open schools just as it has opened commercial activities.
He said the government can put in place all conditions to protect the students from Covid-19.
Another Kuwaiti, M.S., says distance education affects the outstanding students in the first place and may be useful for students at the university, but it is difficult to apply it to young students.
Educational expert Khawla AlAteeqi says that distance education has its pros and cons, but “we must not forget that it will teach the future whether we like it or not, pointing out that the most prominent negative aspect is its negative impact on young students in the early stages of education, as distance education will damage their written and literary skills, but for other subjects it will not be a problem.
Al-Ateeqi stated that distance education will affect the pseudo-superior student who depends on memorization in the first place, indicating that the state had no choice but to move to distance education due to the Corona pandemic.
Professor of computer science at Kuwait University and political thinker, Dr. Ahmed AlMunayes, says distance education is a two-side coin which has its benefits
and harm at the same time.
He added, one of the most important disadvantages is that it negatively affects outstanding students and others.
Routine
Research and activity will decrease as the academic atmosphere inside the university or school is considered among the motivational factors that create positive competition among students, especially since direct education breaks the routine due to direct contact between the student and the teacher.
Psychological sciences expert Dr Ahmed Salam says there are psychological effects that afflict some students as a result of the sudden shift from traditional direct education to distance education, indicating that various countries have automatically turned to education “online” because of the Corona pandemic that struck the world a year ago.
He warned the university students may not be directly affected by their psyche, but the greater psychological impact will be on elementary students,
as the absence of a teacher in front of them will make them bored and a sense of laziness will creep in.
He indicated distance education also has its detriments on outstanding students and said a weak student is psychologically comfortable for distance education because it will prevent him from being embarrassed inside the classroom, especially since some students who are academically weak feel a lack of excellent students in the classes, stressing that distance education despite its danger, but it is better for students of average understanding.
Another expert in office information, Dr. Muhammad Al-Razzaz said e-learning has become a modern necessity to keep pace with the modern developments taking place in the world during the past fifty years, and its importance has appeared in the recent period after the outbreak of the Corona virus, and this type of education has become a safe haven for students all over the world in general and Arab countries in particular.