Home / Shania: Education & Activism during the COVID-19 pandemic

Shania: Education & Activism during the COVID-19 pandemic

18-year-old Shania lives in a small city in Indonesia. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting her life on pause, she is no longer able to go to school or attend her tutoring class. We spoke to Shania to find out how she is coping with the sudden changes, how the coronavirus has affected children’s education in her city and how digital activism can be used to prevent the spread of the disease.

A person posing for a picture

Description automatically generated

Hi Shania! I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. How is everything going?

I am doing okay, thankfully my family and I are healthy. However, there are a lot of changes happening since the COVID-19 outbreak. Schools are shut down, national examinations were cancelled (which I have mixed feelings about), and there are restrictions on going to public spaces. We are not locked down yet, but we can only go outside to buy basic necessities.

It’s been my third week studying at home. I am in my last year at high school but since I don’t have to go through national examinations anymore, I don’t have any set tasks from my teacher. It feels strange though, as from the middle of last year we have been preparing ourselves for the exams, now we are told that we have passed high school already. But, on the bright side, I can now focus on studyng for my university entrance exams instead.

For some of the younger students, it is quite a challenge because at the moment, my school conducts online learning through WhatsApp groups and Workplace. Teachers are struggling to deliver learning materials. As a consequence, most students are only asked to read books, write a summary and complete practice sheets.

You mention that most younger children study through online platforms, how does it work?

Yes, school classes are now conducted through WhatsApp groups. At the beginning of an online class, the teacher asks the students to learn something specific and sets them work based on that. At the end of the day, students have to submit their work to the teachers. It can be challenging because some students miss the learning process. They are not able to have a discussion and get help from the teachers as they would in a normal classroom.

For the ones who have an internet connection and smartphone, they can download an online course or watch a YouTube video. This is very helpful in my opinion. Most online learning companies now providing free access to their courses. This is what I do for most of my days, watch tutorial videos online.

Are there any challenges?

For me, I have to learn better time management. Sometimes it gets tiring too. During the day, I also help my parents run a grocery kiosk in my house, so I have to study at night, when my neighborhood is quieter, usually from 7 to 11 pm. 

However, it’s harder for students who don’t own a smartphone and live in villages with poor internet connection, my cousin’s friends for example, they live near the mountain with very limited access to the internet. Their parents are farmers with limited income and digitally illiterate. My cousin lends her phone to her friends so they can access online tutorials from the teacher and submit their schoolwork. If this continues, I cannot imagine how many students in rural areas will miss out on an education.

Now that you are in your final year, what are your future plans?

I have been preparing for my university entrance exams, but it has also been postponed until further notice. I just got awarded a scholarship to pursue bachelor’s degree, however, I still have to study hard to get accepted in a respective university that the scholarship committee suggest.

What activities do you do in your free time after studying?

At this time, I really want to give back to my community. However, I cannot do much in terms of donations, so during my leisure time, I enjoy developing awareness raising content for social media on diverse topics. With digital activism, I can help others too. My recently published content promoted physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, some people still made negative comments about it.

Last but not least, is there anything else you would like to say?

Yes. At this very time during physical distancing, people have more time to be online on social media. I really wish social media could be a platform to learn new skills and be a safe space for us to share the things we are concerned about. I wish we could utilise social media as a platform to broaden our knowledge, to connect with people, to spread positive messages, and to support each other. 

I also hope that we could all have equal access to digital facilities and internet connections, especially for those living in rural area. As we all know, the implications of this pandemic make it more difficult for students in rural areas to access school, they cannot go to their normal schools, yet they don’t have access to online learning.   

I am afraid this situation will lead to the failure of ensuring that all children have the right to access good quality education. I recently read a report that said women are 20% less likely than men to use mobile internet. In the context of the COVID-9 pandemic, I am really concerned about how children, especially girls will be able to study and access learning materials they want and need. I believe the future of children should not be a matter of chance nor luck. I think we really need to do something about this.

Oh, and lastly, I really wish each and every one of you stay safe and healthy!

Shania was interviewed by Raisha Fatya, Plan International Indonesia Foundation Digital Communications Specialist.

Bagikan ke

Artikel Lain Yang Terkait

Berlanggan Buletin Kami

Berlangganan Buletin Kami​

Jadilah
Teman Plan
Perjuangkan hak anak Indonesia
slot gacor https://pkps.menlhk.go.id/ https://productionshed.tv/ slot gacor scatter hitam mahjong
slot gacor
slot gacor maxbet slot gacor agen judi bola slot gacor slot nolimit slot777 https://furets-jaunes.org/ https://www.forestry-quarantine.org/ toto slot slot777 slot gacor 2025 https://leesgreekandpizza.com/ slot gacor powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 slot gacor powergaming88 toto slot slot88 slot88 slot gacor slot gacor slot gacor slot thailand powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 slot toto slot thailand powergaming88 powergaming88 slot thailand slot 777 powergaming88 sbobet powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 slot gacor powergaming88 Slot88 Live Casino APEX303 APEX303 APEX303 APEX303 Mahjong Wins 3 APEX303 APEX303 Mahjong Wins 3 RTP SLOT GACOR Slot Gacor Slot Gacor Slot Gacor Slot Gacor APEX303 APEX303 Slot Thailand APEX303 APEX303 Slot Gacor APEX303 Slot Pulsa Scatter Hitam Slot88 Slot Thailand Slot88 Slot Gacor Slot Thailand Scatter Hitam APEX303 APEX303 Slot Gacor Situs Togel Slot Gacor Slot Gacor APEX303 Slot Gacor APEX303 APEX303 APEX303 CRAZY TIME SV388 Slot Gacor APEX303 Mahjong Wins 3 APEX303 Slot Gacor APEX303 LIVE CASINO APEX303 Slot Gacor APEX303 Slot Gacor 888SLOT slot bet 200 crazy time sv388 mahjong wins 3 slot pulsa crazy time 888slot scatter hitam slot777 gtr303 mahjong wins 3 scatter hitam sv388 slot bet 200 sv388 gtr303 ws168 bonanza candyland ga28 roulette online slot qris judi bola bandar slot gacor sabung ayam online slot qris crazy time slot88 sweet bonanza candyland slot online slot qris slot thailand sbobet mega wheel slot deposit qris slot online gampang menang slot88 slot qris slot gacor maxwin slot deposit 5000 slot qris slot gacor 2024 link slot gacor spaceman slot scatter hitam 888slot slot maxwin slot dana https://www.nidodevalverde.com/ 888SLOT Slot Thailand slot gacor https://pensivefederation.com/ slot gacor sbobet gtr303 https://windizupdate.com/ slot online gtr303 slot thailand situs slot gacor slot toto scatter hitam crazy time crazy time ktm303 casino online slot gacor gtr303 situs judi bola terpercaya gtr303 gtr303 gtr303 slot thailand casino online togel online situs togel crazy time slot gampang menang slot gacor slot gacor ktm303 joker123 https://dinkes.hsu.go.id/scatter-hitam/ https://pmb.itsnupekalongan.ac.id/vendor/bin/scatter-hitam/ https://jurnal.univa-labuhanbatu.ac.id/public/site/scatter-hitam/ https://lpm.univa-labuhanbatu.ac.id/wp-content/themes/jnews/scatter-hitam/ https://scatterhitam-slot.com https://tth.com.tc/ https://gna.university/ https://guiqac.gnauniversity.edu.in/ http://tourism.gov.eg/ powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 powergaming88 Slot Thailand Starlight Princess Mahjong Ways 2 Slot Maxwin https://sipatudia.bpsdm.sumbarprov.go.id/assets/mahjong/ scatter hitam powergaming88 sv388 idn slot https://slot-thailand.itr.ac.id/ https://pn-watansoppeng.go.id/media/jui/server-thailand/ slot mania slot zeus ying77 judi bola live casino sv388 mahjong ways slot mania slot server kamboja digmaan slot88 slot live casino slot thailand powergaming88 powergaming88 slot thailand ladangtoto slot thailand server thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot gacor powergaming88 ladangtoto sv388 slot toto slot server thailand slot thailand situs slot wwg slot slot gacor slot mawin slot gacor slot thailand slot gacor slot gacor slot88 pgsoft Daftar Judi Slot Online Indonesia Paling Gacor di Indonesia Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online SLOT88 lucky neko slot gacor slot88 slot maxwin slot thailand Slot Mahjong Ways 2 Mudah Jackpot Paus di PG Soft Hari ini 2023 Lucky Neko Situs Slot Gacor Pgsoft Hari Ini SITUS SABUNG AYAM SV388 ONLINE DAFTAR LINK LOGIN APK AGEN SV388
Bagikan informasi ini!

Beritahu teman, keluarga, dan tetangga Anda. Bagikan ke dunia!