In a Facebook post, Syed Saddiq said he had seen many parents on social media sharing pictures of their children attending online classes using smartphones instead of laptops or desktop computers.

“This is what happens when the education minister (Radzi Jidin) does not plan ahead properly.

“There have been no plans to help children with home-based learning,” he said, adding that educational television had also not helped in easing the learning process.

Syed Saddiq then questioned the delay in distributing laptops to 150,000 students in 500 schools, as previously announced in the 2021 budget.

“How long are they going to wait?” he said.

He urged Radzi to listen to the grouses of students, parents and teachers, who were still struggling to cope with home-based learning even after nearly a year since the pandemic began.

“The education minister must help. He must make plans. You have an allocation of funds under the education ministry, use it.”

Students taking public examinations have restarted face-to-face classes today, while all other students must attend lessons conducted via online learning platforms due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.