Struggles Faced by Students During the Pandemic and Online Classes

A student attending online class during a pandemic. Source from Unsplash.

KUALA LUMPUR: Students are still attending online classes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but are facing some struggles while attending online classes. According to Loh Celin, a student from Australia Institute of Music, Melbourne stated that she prefers face-to-face classes as studying Music Theatre via online classes can be difficult at times as the course has a lot physical technique involved. “I am not allowed to experience and accurately apply corrections if all I am following are based on just verbal critiques,” said Celin She added, “Music Theatre involves attending classes as ensembles which requires everyone to participate, it is even harder when you are the only online student in your course.” While studying online, it has its pros and cons as students do not have to travel to attend physical classes. However, it is also difficult for students to adapt and cope with online classes as students tend to procrastinate a lot more and skip classes because of the pressure. “I think considering that my course requires me to be there physically, it is much more difficult because Australia has a two-hour time difference. For instance, I have classes that requires a lot of acting and dancing warmups and because those classes are in the morning, I have to wake up three hours in Malaysian time before my class starts,” said Celin. According to an article published by The Star, students should be allowed to repeat their studies when struggling to cope with online classes. Education Institutes should allow students to have more time to adapt and learn when attending online classes and not rush through the syllabus. Joanne Lim, a student from INTI International College Subang said, “I prefer physical classes because it is easier to ask questions straight away when you do not understand and it is also easier to concentrate whereas during online classes I am mostly in my room and on my bed therefore, it is harder to pay attention.” She added, “What makes it worst is that students are paying the exact same price when they are learning online which makes it seem as though learning is a waste of money and colleges and universities do not put in effort into caring the students’ needs as some students are struggling financially. Joanne mentioned that it would be great if the COVID-19 pandemic is over and students are able to attend physical classes as it is much easier for students to study and ask questions as well as have the chance to meet up with friends again.