In case you missed what started the conversation, here's a video that was widely shared on social media including by radio channel BFM.

I don’t feel so good anymore #ntv7Malaysia #didikTV pic.twitter.com/X96dtJcKYR

— Suriya (@I_am_Suriya) February 18, 2021

The video portrays a teacher teaching the reproduction system aimed at Standard Two children.

It was met with harsh criticism from netizens, with many questioning her mannerism, proficiency of English and also the content.

What is DidikTV?

DidikTV is an initiative by the Education Ministry to help students without adequate amenities for online learning to receive lessons.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin launched the channel on 17 February and there's a set slot for different subjects and levels.

DidikTV operates from 7am to 12am daily and can be watched online via Tonton, on MYTV channel 107, Astro channel 147 and Unifi TV channel 107.

The criticism

When the video we shared above was first uploaded to social media, many were quick to make fun of the teacher and the production quality, as well as critise the content shared by the teacher.

While some were downright mean, there were others who rightly pointed out that using the wrong terms, such as 'infant' instead of 'fetus' when speaking about a fetus growing in the womb, is hardly acceptable.

There were also those who questioned if it was correct to teach children that only married people can make babies when that is not true.

What a mockery!??‍♀️Please cease transmission! Malaysia is already a laughter stock to the world, don't add insult to injury!

— ??????? (@PreciousBloomf2) February 18, 2021

Is she talking to babies? ?

— LINGesh (@lingesh1980) February 18, 2021

Certain kids may forget their current English after viewing this! Jokes aside, and I fully agree with you sir.. it's all about readines and I trust ministry can do better at this..

— Harveender Toor (@HarveenderT) February 18, 2021

Sounds as if teachers r not qualified enough here. Those are selected teachers who are in charge to conduct the learning session and it’s never such a bad job there. I think another idea to implement more effective learning styles are by providing graphic/visual learning there.

— Jeff?? (@Jeffricole_) February 17, 2021

human reeeeproduce, by giving bird....memang betul pun....?#DidikTV

— Ahmad Papi ?? (@papi_ahmad) February 17, 2021

The defence

Fast forward a few hours and people started to question why people chose to share that particular clip from DidikTV when there were others with better quality.

Others have also defended the teacher, who is believed to be a volunteer and has no experience in front of the camera.

A teacher wrote a lengthy post on her Facebook, claiming that the teachers were volunteers who had to prepare their own scripts and plan the entire lesson on their own.

For those who cannot open the link. pic.twitter.com/dM0qhWZBZ4

— #EndChildMarriage - Azira ?? ? (@ladymissazira) February 18, 2021

I blame the freaking producers, directors, and organizers for placing the teacher under this much scrutiny and ridicule!!If the session was supposed to be in English, why didn’t they find someone who is proficient in the language??How hard can that be???

— Samuel Isaiah (@samuel_isaiah87) February 17, 2021

Remember, you are not the target audience. This is targeted for 8yos who do not have access to tech. Her pace? Her sing-songy tone? All to cater to the target audience. This is also a Science teacher, who had to suddenly learn to teach in English bcs of policy change. https://t.co/GDXjJzHvVt

— The Grand High Witch Moyo (@penatbuttercup) February 17, 2021

Despite many coming to the defence of the teacher as well as DidikTV in general, there are others who stuck by their views saying that the channel has to do better.

I totally respect teachers who are adapting to online teaching.BUT.This is just poor leadership by MOE.The 1st DidikTV should inspire, instil trust & set the right bar. This unfortunately does not.Ppl expect much much better. https://t.co/Krk5QNVyyq

— Lim Wei Jiet ?? (@limweijiet) February 17, 2021

There are many criticisms that can be directed at DidikTV.Personally, I don't think that they should transfer the bog standard teaching style from a classroom onto the TV. TV is a different medium. It needs a different style of production.

— Shawn Tan ??? (@sybreon) February 17, 2021

In creative/production work, there is always a certain level of expertise needed. When it is done at national level, there’s no excuse of doing a bad job, cos there are plenty of talented Malaysians out there. Look harder, spread the talent net wider. #DidikTV

— Aubrey Suwito (@AubreySuwito) February 17, 2021

I do feel that DidikTV is a great initiative (though dubious in the spending) but @KemPendidikan and @kkmm_gov set up the teachers to fail if there isn't any training prior. Teaching in front of TV vs a class is so different. You have to be engaging without being engaged.

— Isaiah Saw (@isaiahcksaw) February 18, 2021

60k budget for the didiktv thingy tapi guna volunteers je -- how does that not raising any suspicion?

— Suweli (スウェーリ) (@weliyehihu) February 18, 2021

Ppl are mistaken dat ppl are laughing at d teacher's struggle to teach in DidikTVWe are SCRUTINIZING d overall quality of the teaching as well as d overall program & contentWhy?Becos rakyat f*cking paid for it lah!Yes,gov paid MEDIA PRIMA using rakyat money!#manalaptop

— Cibai Lokter (@CibaiLokter) February 17, 2021

Is it all that bad?

After going through all the comments and arguments, we decided to check out NTV7's YouTube page to see if we can find videos by other educators.

Here are some that we found:

There seem to be different approaches that are used in the videos, with one being more sort of classroom recording and another that is more interactive.