A primary student has an online lesson in Hà Nội.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Millions of students nationwide have started the new school year via an online learning model due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The system requires a lot of efforts from teachers, parents and students because of a lack of devices to serve the online learning process, and a lack of direct interaction between teachers and students during the lesson, which is less effective.

The education sector has prepared detailed plans for students learning online at all levels. 

The education sector has also cooperated with localities to provide textbooks and learning tools for the students.

It is estimated that HCM City has more than 1.7 million students at all levels from kindergarten to high school.

Students at primary level are scheduled to join online learning from September 20 while students of secondary and high school levels have started learning online since September 6.

Head of the city’s Department of Education and Training Nguyễn Văn Hiếu said there were many students who did not have the tools to learn online.

Thus, the department  told local schools to print teachers’ lecturers in a focused and easy-to-understand way and send to the students, he said.

In Đồng Nai Province, students from primary to high school levels will start their new school year by learning online from September 13.

Võ Ngọc Thạch, deputy director of the provincial Department of Education and Training, said the pandemic still showed complex developments in the province.

Some 222 schools of the total 775 schools in the province had been used as quarantine areas so far, he added.

There were many students who do not have tools to study online, so the department had asked the local television station to broadcast lectures so that students could watch them, he said.

Besides, when local schools returned to offline learning, the schools would arrange classes to supplement if necessary, he said.

Thạch also added in the long term, online learning would be performed in parallel with offline learning, so the department also called upon parents to try to provide enough tools for their children to learn online.

The department also called on people to donate smart devices for students to serve online learning, he said.

In Hà Nội, under the schedule of the city’s Department of Education and Training, students from the second to the twelfth grade have started to learn online since September 6, while first-grade students will study online from September 13.

All schools in the city had reviewed the tools of students to serve online learning, according to the department.

Lê Việt Dương, principal of Trương Định High School, Hoàng Mai District, said the school had checked the tools of students for online learning and made a plan to raise funds to support disadvantaged students, who do not have devices to learn online.

In suburban districts such as Đông Anh and Ba Vì, education and training offices recently also launched a programme to donate equipment to support students in difficult circumstances.

In Ba Vì District, more than 200 devices, including smartphones, computers, and iPads have been promptly sent to disadvantaged students.

Trần Thế Cương, director of the city’s Department of Education and Training, said the sector would continue the programme “Computer for students,” which was launched in the school year of 2020-21, to support poor and disadvantaged children to have enough devices to learn online.

Lively lectures

Thạch said teachers should prepare lively lecturers to create more interest for students.

It was one of the ways to teach online effectively, he said.

Nguyễn Kim Thanh, a primary teacher in Bình Thạnh District, HCM City, said it would be easier to teach online for high school students.

However, for primary students, teaching online was a huge challenge for teachers, she said.

Thus, teachers must be more flexible and creative in preparing lecturers, she said.

The most important thing was that teachers created a pleasant atmosphere so that children did not feel stressed or bored when they had to learn online, she said.

Cao Thị Huyền, a lecturer of Psychology Faculty under Đồng Nai University, said the role of parents was very important when students learned online.

Parents of primary students should prepare an adequate space for learning online. The students should be separated from televisions, toys and pets so that they could focus on the lesson, she said.

Additionally, parents also should create a space for their children to relax after the lesson, so that the learning online activities would be as effective as expected, she added. — VNS