The Students On the Rickety Bridge

Eight students in Ranau, Sabah were badly injured after the suspension bridge that they were on gave way while they were trying to connect to the Internet for online classes. 

According to New Straits Times, the students from SMK Ulu Sugut had been on the bridge in Kampung Gusi at around 9 PM on Monday, when the bridge, made out of wire mesh and wooden planks, collapsed. It had been reported that the bridge, said to be about 18m high, is rickety and there has been periodic repairs done on it over time. 

One student, a 16-year-old girl, fractured her leg while another male student suffered spinal injuries. They were both sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for immediate treatment. The other students, all aged between 15 and 18 years old, were admitted to Ranau district hospital for lighter injuries. 

Villagers said that it had become a routine for these students to go to the bridge at night to follow their online classes. 

"Internet connection in Kampung Gusi is poor, but it is better at night on the suspension bridge", said the school's Parent Teacher Association chairperson Ratimin Kukunut. 

Very many students in Malaysia face challenges particularly with regard to online learning.

Remember Sabahan student Veveonah Mosibin who gained national attention after camping in a tree to take her university exams? To know more, read about her at my blogpost titled “The Treetop Student” published September 06, 2020. 

To be sure, this was not an isolated incident.

 

Rose ED (left), a student at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris faced the same issue. 

She was aware that Internet connection was limited in her village – a place supposedly not too far from Pakan, a small town about 45km from Sarikei in Sarawak – and on June 24, 2020, she was compelled to set up camp in a nearby jungle just to be able to get good Internet access in order to complete her final year project. 

And the story about Mujalifah Kassim (right), who teaches Bahasa Malaysia at SMK Sibu Jaya and in the present scenario, her classes are all conducted online – but who took the initiative to make house calls because there were students who either didn't have electronic devices or Internet access at home, especially those who live in the longhouses outside of Sibu, Sarawak. 

Muja's story first came to light when a former student caught her in action teaching a student across a metal gate and uploaded the photo to social media this month. 

All I can say is Malaysia’s Internet infrastructure is in a sorry state.