KUCHING: The Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the teaching and learning process for students of Smart Readers Kids in the state.
Aim Smart Academic Sdn Bhd’s operations and business development manager (Sabah & Sarawak), Norma John said this was because the company had been incorporating online learning for their students. Aim Smart Academic Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn Bhd.
She said the institution’s Smart Kinder-Tech programme provided its students with the right exposure to technology even before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“So when schools and kindergartens were ordered to close under the movement control order, we immediately switched to online classes using Google Class and the materials we’ve provided to our students.”
Norma did not deny it was challenging but quickly added, “We’re very fortunate that we’ve started with the practice approximately a year before the pandemic happened.
“The Smart Kinder-Tech programme is a fun and interactive e-learning tool which incorporates technology. So, our students were not entirely shocked with the shift to online learning.”
She also said the pandemic had fast-tracked the use of digital technology for the country’s education system.
Asked how parents responded to sending their kids back to Smart Reader Kids centres, Norma said the management would take all measures to ensure their operators fully comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“Before the official SOPs from the government were disseminated, we spent day and night discussing with our operators what they needed to do. The operators, parents and children were also given specific guidelines.
“We even have videos to prove that the premises are regularly sanitised and the teachers know what they are supposed to be doing. The premises are sanitised three times a day — in the morning, afternoon and after school,” she said.
Norma said that students of Smart Reader Kids were very well-behaved during the teaching and learning process in the new normal.
“The students are very compliant with the SOPs and they are aware of the current situation. It has become a routine for them.
“They are obedient and listen to their teachers. I think that is why teachers are very special, especially to children,” she said.
Currently, there are over 20 Smart Reader Kids operating throughout Sarawak including 14 centres in Kuching.
