June 10, 2021
By Sheri Rose Malicdem
As the Philippine education system shifts to distance learning, other students are continuously struggling to adjust to virtual classrooms while working on the side just to meet the demands of online schooling.
Based on the latest statistics of Commission on Higher Education (CHED), more than 3 million college students were enrolled for Academic Year 2019-2020. But these numbers are expected to decrease because of the costly remote learning set-up that puts a strain on the capacity of families and learners.
Zarina Carcha, a second-year Accountancy major, is one of those students. That is why she started venturing into the world of online selling since the country was stricken by the pandemic. Now, it becomes part of her ‘new normal’ that serves as her source of income.
“Noong una mga cases pa ganon, phone accessories, beauty products, t-shirts pero ngayon ginawa kong ukay-ukay since marami ng time manuod ‘yong mga tao sa Facebook kaya mas maraming customers,” she shared.
(At first, it was phone accessories, beauty products, t-shirts but now, I made it a thrift store since many already have time to watch on Facebook so there are more customers.)
She continued her small online business even if she struggled to divide her time and attention for work and for her online classes.
“Mahirap sa’kin kasi ang ginagawa ko is hindi siya posting kundi live selling. Kailangan talaga mismo na ako ‘yong haharap sa camera para magtinda, magsalita which is kino-consume niya ‘yong 4 hours na gabi ko na para na dapat sa pag-aaral ko,” Zarina explained.
(It is difficult for me because what I do is not posting, but rather a live selling. I should be the one who really needs to be in front of the camera to sell and talk, which is consuming my 4 hours at night that was supposedly meant for my studies.)
When asked about why she chose to work and study at the same time, Zarina said she cannot afford to waste another academic year and put her scholarship at stake.
“Hinahabol ko ‘yong scholarship ko kasi good for 4 years lang siya. So kapag na-late na ako or naging more than 4 years na ako sa college, sasagutin ko na ‘yong iba. Hindi namin ‘yon kaya sa hirap ng buhay lalo na’t pandemic,” she lamented.
(I am pursuing my scholarship because it is only good for 4 years. So if I finish it late or it becomes more than 4 years in college, I will shoulder the rest of the expenses. We cannot afford it, living is hard especially with this pandemic.)
In terms of her studies, Zarina is also struggling with her defective gadgets causing inconvenience and worries when it comes to her exams and school requirements.
“Mahirap lalo na may problema ‘yong laptop ko. Kasi minsan nagka-klase ako, bigla-biglang namamatay. Ang inaalala ko ngayon baka kapag nag-e-exam ako, biglang mawala or biglang mag-shut down cellphone ko or biglang magloko. Ayon syempre ‘yong time ko sa pag-e-exam, mako-compromise din. Masasayang ‘yong time ko,” she said with a deep concern.
(It is difficult, especially my problem with my laptop. Because sometimes when I am in class, it suddenly shuts down. What I am worried about is maybe when I am having my exams, it will be gone or my phone will shut down. Of course, my time in answering my exams will be compromised. My time will be wasted.)
She also encountered several unannounced power interruptions in their place causing a little to no internet connection.
“Dito sa amin, walang abiso. Walang sinabi na maaapektuhan pero kahapon may klase ako buong araw eh walang internet connection so ako halos ‘di ako makapasok kasi kahit magload ako is mabagal ‘yong data sa amin,” Zarina said as she was bothered by this thought every time she has her scheduled synchronous classes.
(In here, there is no notice. They did not say that our place will be affected yet yesterday, I had my classes for the whole day but we have no internet connection so I cannot attend it. Even when I use my load, the mobile data is slow in our place.)
Amid these problems, she chose to stay as a working student and has resorted to different measures to better provide for her family’s day-to-day needs.
“Ngayon kinukuhanan namin is ‘yong sa ukay-ukay business ko which is ‘yon ‘yong pambayad namin ng kuryente, ng tubig, internet ganon. Kasi ‘yong mother ko syempre OFW, ngayon nandito siya sa Pilipinas. Wala rin siyang ipon, ubos na. Kaya ito rin ang pambili namin ng pang-araw-araw na pagkain, doon din napupunta lahat kaya mahalaga talaga itong work ko,” she emphasized her online ukay-ukay as their only source of living.
(Now, our source is my thrift store business which is used to pay our electric, water and internet bills. Because my mother is an OFW who returned to the Philippines. She has no savings, it was already consumed. So it also became our sustenance to buy our everyday food, it was all meant for it so my work is really important.)
Aside from Zarina, Donita De Guzman is also a working student. She works as a service crew in a famous fast food chain while studying in Secondary Education major in Social Studies as a second year student.
“Habang nag-aaral, pinagsasabay ko ang pagiging Cashier ko sa Jollibee. Nag-start ako February kaso almost 1 month akong hindi nakapasok kasi nagkasakit ako and may mga hinabol akong requirements sa mga carry-out subjects ko. Irregular student din kasi ako,” Donita said.
(While studying, I am working as a Cashier in Jollibee at the same time. I started in February but I was absent for almost a month because I got sick and I am also keeping up with my requirements in my carry-out subjects. Since I am also an irregular student.)
When the pandemic hit and continuous lockdowns occurred, she applied for a part-time job due to their family’s financial problems. This is also to help her sister after becoming the breadwinner in their household.
“Nagwork ako and ginrab ko ‘yong opportunity na ‘yon kasi nawalan din ng work mga kuya and father ko. So ate ko lang nagso-shoulder sa’min and nakikita kong nahihirapan na siya kaya mas pinili kong tumulong. Nag-i-struggle din kasi kami sa bayad sa tubig at kuryente,” she explained.
(I worked and grabbed this opportunity because my brother and father became jobless. So my sister is the one who shoulders us and I see that she is having a difficult time so I chose to help. We are also struggling to pay for our water and electric bills.)
Although she has her time management on working and schooling, there were inevitable circumstances of overlapping tasks on hand. With this, she has no choice but to set aside one for another.
“Nakadepende pa rin kasi kapag wala kaming klase and may advance announcement naman si teacher, nag-u-update ako sa scheduling manager namin para mabigyan ako ng schedule. Shifting kasi kami, hindi pare-pareho ‘yong araw na may pasok ka at oras nang duty mo. Pero, minsan kasi nagbibigay sila ng activities ng biglaan kaya hindi ko ma-ipasa on time dahil nasa work pa ako,” she lamented.
(It depends because if we have no classes and there is an advanced announcement from the teacher, I will update our scheduling manager to give me my schedule. We have shifts where the days of my classes and duty hours are different. But sometimes they give sudden activities so I cannot pass it on time because I am still at work.)
Donita also shared about her remote learning woes that she encountered while she takes turns on her scheduled day and duty hours on her work.
“Mahirap kasi kapag online class lang lalo na sa part ko kasi wala akong stable connection and ang ginagamit ko lang is ‘yong phone ko. May mga time din kasi na hindi ako maka-cope up sa discussion due to poor internet connection so kailangan ko pa ulit pag-aralan nang mag-isa ‘yong lesson. Para sa’kin time consuming na masyado ‘yon lalo na working student ako,” she concluded.
(It is difficult because in online class, especially on my part, I have no stable internet connection and I am only using my phone. There were also times that I could not cope with the discussion due to poor internet connection since I need to study the lesson again on my own. For me, it is too time consuming, especially since I am a working student.)
Despite the aim of online learning system to ensure the safety of the students during the pandemic, Zarina and Donita’s experiences mirror many unfortunate students who have no choice but to persevere working while studying, not only to survive the semester but for their lives as well. SYNC IN
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