HUNDREDS of students were reportedly unable to complete their online exams yesterday as the Internet connections were disrupted due to the heavy rain.
Families in and around Ma’ameer were also reportedly without a phone service.
Some parts of Sitra, Nuwaidrat and Eker were also affected, with more than 3,000 telephone and Internet lines being disrupted, according to residents.
Services by all three major telecom providers were down on Saturday midnight, with one of them partially resuming services the following day and another yesterday.
“Since Saturday night, phones have been dead and Internet connections have been down,” a Bahraini man from Ma’ameer told the GDN.
“We thought it would be fine on Sunday morning, but it was still down and raining.
“Many children missed their online exams because they were unable to log in; some of us were able to relocate families so that they could take the exams.
“My wife’s exams (Bahrain University) are still ongoing, and she had to take online exams. I knew it would be difficult if I waited so I went out of Ma’ameer and made calls from a friend’s phone, and my father-in-law took her in at night, and she didn’t miss her exams yesterday.”
The 29-year-old stated that he contacted all three service providers who blamed the rain.
Another man, whose niece missed her exam, said that a faculty member suggested giving exams from a coffee shop.
“I wasn’t sure how practical that would be; who would be comfortable giving an exam from a coffee shop?
“Especially women who are supposed to have their cameras turned on during online exams. My niece (Bahrain University) missed her exams, and we are hoping that they will give her another chance.”
A father-of-two, despite his annoyance, laughed at the prospect of his sons taking their online exams at a coffee shop.
“Half the time they’ll be fighting,” he said. “There are approximately 3,800 lines in and around Ma’ameer, Sitra, Nuwaidrat, and Eker, and almost all houses have children, and it is exam time; hundreds were waiting for the lines to be up and were unable to give exams.
“Classes resumed after the break but, more importantly, there could have been emergencies; we couldn’t even make a call on Sunday, while one of the service providers resumed yesterday.”
He also said that connectivity issues had an impact on both public and private schools in the area.
The GDN learned that mobile Internet connections were restored in the affected areas by yesterday evening, but landlines remained down. According to informed sources, the damage was caused by the rain affecting the underground cables.
“The main station for the distribution of the Internet has sunk following the flooding,” added the source.
This station distributes Internet lines to several areas including Sanad and Riffa, besides those affected.
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