Hornsby: Students miss out on education due to internet problems
A mother has posted about her child’s frustrating experience of learning from home after suffering from internet problems, claiming he missed out on an entire mathematics lesson.
Hornsby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hornsby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- COVID-19: Normanhurst school closes after staff tests positive.
- Hornsby Shire Council roll out pandemic plan.
A Wahroonga mother has expressed her frustration on Facebook after her son missed out on an entire mathematics lesson from home over internet connection problems.
She said she had problems with the internet cutting out and wanted to see if other people were experiencing similar problems.
“Does anybody else in Wahroonga suffer with really bad internet? Ours cuts out several times an hour,” she wrote on a closed community group.
“We tried online schooling last week, but it was impossible. My son missed an entire maths lesson and all of his other lessons were interrupted due to the internet cutting out.”
She said while an NBN worker visited on Friday there had been no improvement, stating she was getting “seriously worried”.
The Facebook post received more than 40 comments from other concerned residents.
Student Olivia McDonald is studying a bachelor of podiatry and said she was “tearing out hair”, forced to hotspot from her phone.
“It’s so important for us to have reliable internet right now,” Ms McDonald told the Hornsby Advocate.
“My university is operating as normal in terms of our deadlines and what is required of us is exactly the same. With upcoming exams and assignments it’s stressful at the best of times but now it seems impossible.
“It’s really hard to keep up with the class work because of the internet issues. My university is using live Zoom sessions in place of tutorials which are not recorded, so if you aren’t able to “attend” you will miss out.”
She said she hadn’t experienced internet problems in other areas across Sydney.
“It needs to be fixed immediately because we have no idea how long this health crisis is going to last. For the past year that I’ve lived in Hornsby I’ve made use of wifi spots like the public library or Internet cafes - obviously we don’t have that option now.
“I’m worried that those who are disadvantaged because they can’t afford home internet or the fastest internet plan will miss out in their education.”
It comes after the NSW Premier held a conference earlier this week where children were recommended to learn from home.
“We’ve had increased numbers overnight...We have to contain the spread. I want to thank our school communities for the way in which they responded from the government’s direction yesterday,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“Our direction for schools are very clear - school’s stay open however we are recommending at this time that parents keep their children at home. We know for practical reasons a third of parents were keeping their children at home last week.”
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said online resources for learning would be rolled out.
“We’re moving to the delivery of remote learning and that’s why we’re encouraging school communities to provide that single opporuntity for teaching and learning for all students and that’s beginning today," Ms Mitchell said at the press conference.
A public school in Normanhurst was forced to close down this week after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.