To stop the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, schools were closed in Hungary, as in many other countries around the world, and educational institutions switched to digital distance education. Many students are lost in the new system, unable to cope with the curriculum alone, often without the material conditions needed for online learning. But in addition to negative aspects, the situation had also positive effects, such as closer and more lively cooperation between teachers, partners and helping organisations.
Atlatszo.hu asked the director of Burattino Primary School, Gymnasium and Children’s Home in Csepel, teacher Gusztáv Kendeh, who deals with disadvantaged rural students, the founder of the Indahouse Association, the BAGázs Public Benefit Association, the Igazgyöngy Foundation, and the director of Age of Hope Children’s Protection Association, what is their opinion, how can children who are lagging catch up, how can students and their parents be helped, and what positive and negative stories they encounter during their work.
A major problem across the country is that a significant proportion of students do not have access to the tools needed for online education.
According to the director of Burattino Primary and Vocational School, Children’s Home in Csepel, they took the computers from the school’s computer lab and distributed in their children’s homes, while the families were supported by goodwill people and friends, but in Burattino tasks were not distributed online, but children had to sit in front of the computers between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and classes kept touch using Messenger, Google Classroom, Meet and Facebook groups. If a child did not show up for the class, the parent was notified immediately. The educators also visited the families of absent children, so they managed to fill the gaps in a short time. Besides, individual, personalized education has been successfully implemented in the online space, and the school’s developmental professional virtually meets the children after classes and gives them extra assignments.
Fruzsina Benkő, founder and president of the InDaHouse Association, said that their volunteers are in touch with 47 families in Borsod County, and 31 of them have school-age children. A total of 20 families were helped to create conditions for online education. The main problem was that the children have difficulty paying attention, the parents have a low level of education, they cannot give proper educational support for their children. The volunteers of the Association communicate with children online every day and help them with the curriculum, and fortunately, their relationship with the local teachers has also become closer.
According to Gusztáv Kendeh, a teacher from the rural Unified Special Education and Methodology Institution, the biggest problem with online education was that there is no suitable space for the students to learn in their home, their houses are over-crowded, the whole family is at home, parents are in a difficult situation because many lost their jobs.
The workers of the BAGázs Public Benefit Association work with people living in Roma settlements in Bag and Dány. According to Emőke Both, the founder of the Association, there are no digital devices in the families they work with, the teachers were not prepared for the fast change. The staff of the Association has a good relationship both with teachers and parents.
According to Nóra L. Ritók, the founder and pedagogue of the Igazgyöngy Foundation in Berettyóújfalu, they have adapted well to the new situation, they continue the art school by phone and Messenger, and they support the children with the necessary tools. She thinks the biggest problem is that the students and their parents are not motivated, they do not have a suitable, calm environment for learning at home.
The president of Age of Hope Child Protection Foundation said, that the closure of schools led primarily to the starvation of children.
He commented: “In many places, we can talk about effective starvation throughout the year. In many villages, children least eat on Fridays, and then on Mondays.”
He also said that they were contacted by more than 50 villages asking for help, so they are still collecting and donating food, detergents and electronic devices.