Education in the New Normal: A Closer Look at the Philippines’ Learning Solutions Amidst the Pandemic
As the classes resumed, unceasing students’ concerns and teachers’ outcry were in the limelight — exposing the disadvantages that these learning solutions are posing.
While the country is fighting the challenge brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Education (DepEd) adopt and implement the flexible model of blended learning despite many oppositions. As the classes resumed, unceasing students’ concerns and teachers’ outcry were in the limelight —exposing the disadvantages that these learning solutions are posing.
Here we will walk you through the big picture of the Philippines’ attempt to push education amidst the deadly pandemic.
A drop in the ocean
Almost 75 percent of the world’s learners’ population has been impacted by school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (UNESCO, 2020). This is a rough total of 1,576,021,818 students out of 91.3 percent of the total enrolled students in 188 countries (Toquero, 2020). This was similar when China in 2003 experienced firsthand the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). For instance, 1,302 schools in Hong Kong have closed, 1,000,000 students stay at home, and around 51,000 teachers are scrambling — all while maintaining to keep them and their families safe during the outbreak (Fox, 2007; Toquero 2020).
In the Philippine educational system alone, enrollment for elementary and high school plunges by seven million (DepEd, 2020; Jorge, 2020). While this still leaves 74.6 percent out of the 27.7 million students in public and private schools, the remaining 25.4 percent is still a huge drop in the ocean. Meanwhile, a 70 percent drop from last year’s 3.2 million enrollees is expected in private higher educational institutions (HEIs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs) (CHED, 2020; Romero, 2020). Among the top concerns of this virtual opening of classes are the access to the appropriate technology required for remote learning, teachers’ training, and instructional materials, and online curricula for modular approach (Altbach and De Wit, 2020; HESB, 2020). Thus, it implies that numerous private and public HEIs and SUCs — and CHED as such — are not equipped to implement the online learning system (Toquero, 2020).
On the other hand, Save the Children Philippines, a non-government organization, supports the call for continuous learning amidst the pandemic. They believe that education should never stop even in these challenging times. In line with this, DepEd has explored different modes of learning such as modular-based and media-based interventions. Unfortunately, students, teachers, and other stakeholders are left doomed to bear the brunt of it all.
Meanwhile, the Commission has released six important announcements addressing the prevention and mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 (as cited by Cuaton, 2020) and four memorandum orders in HEIs in the country. Of those, Memorandum Order №4 series of 2020 instructed the guidelines and implementation about flexible learning and teaching options, approaches, strategies, systems, pedagogies, and modalities in the higher education programs, by all private and public Philippine HEIs (CHED, 2020). But what is missing in the protocol is access to internet speed and teachers’ compensation which are essential for meeting the demands of a virtual learning approach.
“If a better society can rise out of the lockdowns, can a better higher education [institution] rise out of the lockdowns?” (Sen, 2020).
This pandemic has drastically changed the education landscape and revealed old and new challenges such as the digital divide (Altbach and De Wit, 2020; HESB, 2020) — a term coined for lack of appropriate gadgets, internet inaccessibility, teachers’ “learning by doing set-up,” and other hybrid online opportunities. From the initial data, around 6.9 million Filipino underprivileged learners experience unstable mobile and internet connections, while 6.8 million cite no gadget at all (as cited by Mateo, 2020).
This brought us into questioning: Why are we pushing for a solution that does more harm than good?
Facing the education gap
While pandemic has laid bare in most education systems all over the world, Philippine HEIs goes on through utilizing virtual classrooms or primary online educational platforms such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Messenger, Edmodo, Facebook, and Youtube to name a few — to host the blended and distance learning (Tria, 2020).
Meanwhile in Turkey, the Ministry of National Education has an online platform known as the Educational Informatics Network (EIN) to implement effective online learning. It has provided all online educational materials such as documents, electronic books (E-Books), videos, tests, and activities that are accessible exclusively for preschool and high school students and teachers. Aside from EIN, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), a national television channel is also used to reach students living in far-flung areas. Although many schools have been closed since the pandemic started, pursuing inclusive education can be valuable or another setback as to how a person handles it.
In our country, especially in remote areas, the problem with internet speed exacerbates when traditional classes transition online. For the record, it ranked eleventh slowest in upload speed and sixteenth slowest in download speed among 87 countries (as cited by Ragandang, 2020); while named 21st or 72.4 percent — leveled from those of Albania, Brazil, and Tunisia, among others — in terms of 4G availability (Mercurio, 2020).
For instance, this connectivity issue has pushed teachers in Bato, Catanduanes to consider using Radio Eduko (Radyo Edukasyon Ko), or a two-way radio communication that can be able to reach their Grade 6 students in Cagraray Elementary School (CES) wherever they are — all to keep up with their education (DepEd, 2020). They believe that their students will no longer take on the burden of signal and connection in which cellular phones and online learning is impossible in their area. But it does not, in any way, guarantee quality and inclusive learning.
This approach will take a toll on our teachers who, on the other hand, are struggling with the pressure of adjusting to the new normal, securing and navigating technological resources, and writing and delivering instructional materials on time.
However, with their unfaltering passion for teaching, some have crossed rivers to distribute modules and risk their lives — all to ensure that no one gets left behind. The learning environment, studying styles, faculty training, and appropriate tools to use are among the concerns the government should take into consideration too.
To simply put, the education gap will remain visible, especially in the years to come, when only the privileged learners have adequate access to it. A quality, accessible, and reliable education should be available for everyone, most especially in these uncertain times.
Looking at opportunities
The call for #LigtasNaBalikEskuwela (Safe Back to School) is more likely than an absolute academic freeze as it holds the government accountable in all the demands of the people such as pushing for mass testing, national-based contact tracing, and flattening of the curve; while an ‘academic freeze’ will only be a short-term solution as it has no beneficial effects for the majority (Malipot, 2020) and appeases only on the personal belief for some students. With the former, no university around the country including students and administrative staff will be in danger when implementing a safer return to school.
In response to the technological education problem, a published study titled Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Philippine Context offers some recommendations for Philippine HEIs to attempt to continue classes despite the COVID-19 threat. It presents the need for HEIs to respond to its stakeholders, re-assessment the curriculum as well as teacher’s training, and toughen the school’s medical services, among others (Toquero, 2020).
Strengthen Research Efforts, Data Monitoring, and Evidence-Based Practices. Even during these unprecedented times, HEIs must still uphold excellence and effectiveness in producing evidence-based studies about the pandemic and in offering support and services to students (Ludeman et. al., 2009 as cited by Toquero, 2020). It is high time to make innovative programs offered for students as it seems to be practiced incautiously in the country (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). Sourcing recommendations from secondary stakeholders such as education groups, teachers' alliances, and other educational institutions will be helpful in coming up with one solid intervention plan to continue learning in the new normal. Toquero (2020) also added that the Philippine HEIs should make a policy that will enable them to engage and tighten research, evaluation, and strategic planning to increase and improve student learning amidst a pandemic.
Migrate Courses, Align Curriculum Competencies, and Scale-up Teachers’ Training for Online Learning Instruction. The education in the country has shifted into a hundred percent virtual to stop spreading the virus forcing HEIs to restructure, reinvent, and realign their program curricula. The re-alignment of education courses is a major indicator of how learning will come about in this new landscape. But this will obviously serve as additional work for teachers because they need to acquire online competencies in implementing the course through an online mode of teaching and learning. While there are several online educational tools available for curricula design and development, it is still efficient and better to complement this with intensive training of faculty and facilitators since most teachers lack the right set of skills and knowledge necessary to operate in a digital learning environment.
Incorporate an Online Mental Health and Medical Services. With the sudden shift in our lifestyles and uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, learning is becoming harder as well. Because of this, universities must consider tackling mental health for the students, teachers, and stakeholders to manage the stress and mental health concerns this pandemic has brought (Sahu, 2020). The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a higher toll on mental health disorders, especially for students and teachers. A suggestion of free virtual services like medical counseling, mental health teleconferencing, and other online health services from health experts should be attainable for everyone (Hinderaker, 2013 & Toquero, 2020). HEIs should also create public health awareness through a system protocol and management chart focusing on on-campus medical services to understand the COVID-19 (Lee et. al., 2003; Tuquero 2020) — affiliated symptoms, risks, and management guidelines to prevent from spreading the virus.
Strengthening educational planning and health measures in schools guarantees an opportunity to continue learning while preventing the spread of the virus (Toquero, 2020). It does not only value continuous learning and, hence, pressures the government to take appropriate action to make education possible. Besides, prioritizing literacy is a future-proofing move to ensure that the world adeptly deals with a future virus outbreak.
“…learning should never stop, but in this new world we’re living in, learning should be safe as well.”
The pandemic has helped expose and magnify the challenges in the Philippine education sector which have been going on even before the pandemic. Issues concerning the lack of facilities, shortage of faculty and staff, and the teachers’ well-deserved compensation remain unaddressed (Teodoro, 2020).
Seeking to effectively engage the students in this ‘new norm’ is difficult but manageable through proper planning of appropriate, effective, and sustainable interventions. CHED and DepEd must see the pandemic as an opportunity to tackle our ever-existing problems in education, ignore band-aid solutions, and start utilizing research-based and future-proofing solutions instead. These agencies must understand that leaving present concerns unaddressed will only make the impact of the crisis worse and unbearable for everyone over time. Sure, learning should never stop, but in this new world we’re living in, learning should be safe as well; and we, as citizens, should take the role of watchdogs to make sure that our government is helping us make that happen.
References:
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