A teacher in Indonesia carried a pupil on his shoulders so the boy could have better internet access. — Picture via Instagram/ nttupdate
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — A teacher in Indonesia, who carried a pupil on his shoulders to get better internet access, has illustrated the struggle faced by teachers and students in rural areas to carry out online learning.
The difficulties came to light in a series of photographs shared on Instagram, reportedly taken at a primary school in Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
As countries battled the Covid-19 pandemic, classes were forced to be conducted online.
In one of the photos, a pupil can be seen balancing a laptop on his teacher’s head while sitting on the teacher’s shoulders.
The same teacher was captured in the second photo climbing onto wooden beams in the classroom in an attempt to get better reception.
Coconuts Bali reported that the pupils were filling in a computer-based national assessment, while the teachers were completing a survey on the learning environment at the school as part of the government’s requirement.
The portal said although the tasks are not directly related to online learning, they still capture the issue of uneven internet access in the archipelago.
Indonesia’s Culture, Education, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim and the Communications and IT Ministry were tagged in the post in the hopes it would grab their attention.
It was previously reported that a university student in Sabah spent 24 hours in a tree for better internet connection for online exams.
Veveonah Mosibin shared her “adventure” on her YouTube channel where viewers were shown how she spent 24 hours in a tree in the jungle to get the best internet connection for her exams.