Query about a verb and a pronoun.
The technical problem experienced by myself and colleagues at neighbouring schools are servers crashing , screens freezing and tests going back to the beginning when we were assured that they could be saved and the children could complete them at a later time ," he said.
Query:
① Why is the main verb (though a common grammarian regards it as a copula (a linking verb) "are" used ,after all , its subject or the agent of it is the "the technical problem" ,apparently ,a singular noun.
② Do the pronoun "they" and "them" refer to the same things as these three: servers crashing , screens freezing and tests going back to the beginning?
③ I deduce the "them" does not have the same meaning as that of the pronoun "they" due to reasonable logic , the exact meaning of the "them" perhaps depends on the context.
Is my guess correct?

Question

Query about a verb and a pronoun.
The technical problem experienced by myself and colleagues at neighbouring schools are servers crashing , screens freezing and tests going back to the beginning when we were assured that they could be saved and the children could complete them at a later time ," he said.
Query: 
①  Why is the main verb (though a common grammarian regards it as a copula (a linking verb) "are" used ,after all , its subject or the agent of it is  the "the technical problem" ,apparently ,a singular noun.
②  Do the pronoun "they" and "them" refer to the same things as these three: servers crashing , screens freezing and tests going back to the beginning?
③  I deduce the "them" does not have the same meaning as that of  the pronoun "they" due to reasonable logic , the exact meaning of the "them" perhaps depends on the context.
Is my guess correct?

Answer

1 - “The technical problem” (singular) looks like a typo. The plural is more natural and matches the verb.

2 - “They” and “them” refer to tests.

Answer

1 - They made a mistake. They should change "The technical problem" to "Technical problems" because they are listing multiple problems. Then "are" will be correct.

2 - "They" and "them" refer to the tests. Because only the tests need to be "saved" such that "the children could complete them at a later time".

3 - "They" and "them" have different grammar, for usage in different places in the sentence, but they have the same general meaning really. They mean "it", but are plural (or quantity-nonspecific). You are right that they can have slightly different meanings depending on context, but the only difference is whether or not they are indicating plurality (sometimes they are, sometimes they're not).

Answer

Query about a verb and a pronoun.
"The technical problem experienced by myself and colleagues at neighbouring schools are crashing servers , screens freezing and tests going back to the beginning when we were assured that they could be saved and the children could complete them at a later time ," he said.

1. In the sentence, "are" is used because the subject is not just "the technical problem." The subject of the verb "are" is actually the phrase "the technical problem experienced by myself and colleagues at neighbouring schools". This phrase is plural because the problems listed (servers crashing, screens freezing, and tests restarting) are multiple and shared across different schools. The plural nature of these problems justifies the use of "are." Grammatically, the sentence is treating "the technical problems" as a collective group of issues, even though "the technical problem" is written in the singular form.

2. Do the pronouns "they" and "them" refer to the same things as "servers crashing," "screens freezing," and "tests going back to the beginning"?
Yes, both the pronouns "they" and "them" refer to the same set of technical issues mentioned earlier, i.e., "servers crashing, screens freezing, and tests going back to the beginning." These issues are being referenced collectively by "they" (subject of the assurance) and "them" (object, referring to the tests that could supposedly be resumed later).

3. Does "them" have the same meaning as "they"?
The pronoun "they" and "them" both refer to the same set of technical issues, but in different grammatical roles:
- "They" refers to the subjects (the technical problems/issues) in the sentence: the fact that these problems were claimed to be manageable.
- "Them" refers specifically to the tests that were supposed to be saved and resumed later. While both pronouns ultimately refer to the same general set of issues, the specific context clarifies that "them" highlights the aspect of the tests in this case.