June 7, 2021
By Reina Lyne Pintang
Almost a year into the opening of classes through the new modes of learning, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair Prospero de Vera III revealed that flexible learning will be the norm in the country’s educational system for the following years.
During De Vera’s presentation at the “Educating our Children in the New Normal” webinar, he announced that the commission had already adopted a policy saying that the flexible learning system will continue not just in the school year 2021 but in the succeeding years as well.
"From now on, flexible learning will be the norm. There's no going back to the traditional full-packed face-to-face classrooms. The commission has adopted the policy that flexible learning will continue in the school year 2021 and thereafter," the CHED chair said.
He emphasized that this decision prevents us to "run the risk exposing our educational stakeholders to the same risk if another pandemic comes in." He also argued that returning to the traditional face-to-face classes would only waste the "investments in technology, teachers' training, and retrofitting of our facilities."
As CHED defined it, flexible learning in higher education includes the combination of digital and non-digital technology, which they initially claimed doesn’t necessarily require an internet connection. However, after 731 universities and colleges opened classes in August, the struggle of students and teachers to cope with remote learning was felt across the country.
The call for #AcademicFreezeNOW
The #AcademicFreezeNOW and #NoStudentLeftBehind trended several times on social media as students shared their grievances towards online classes and called for a specific plan of action from the government. Such demands were rooted in the problem of unstable internet connection, insufficient resources, lack of conducive learning environment, and issues on physical, mental, and emotional health faced by students.
The call for academic freeze is one way to cater the concerns of students who cannot adapt to the new modes of education and make sure that no one will be left behind. However, this call compromises the welfare of teachers and school staff, who in fact, suffer as much as students do.
Teachers are assigned to make learning materials such as modules and lecture videos for their classes. In some cases, teachers themselves go to places to deliver these materials, risking their own health and safety in the line of work. In a report from Rappler, if educational institutions will push through with an academic freeze, 50,000 faculty members are on the verge of becoming jobless.
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), around 10.9 million Filipino workers lost their jobs and had lower incomes and working hours in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, teachers and school staff can no longer afford to lose their jobs, as this will result in an increase in the unemployment rate in the country. Thus, an academic freeze is not the all-inclusive solution to the current problems faced by the education sector.
As a result, the call for ‘ligtas na balik eskwela’ or a safe return to school was raised as a way to achieve safe, accessible, and quality education, especially in the time of a pandemic.
Based on a statement from Rise for Education – UP Diliman, the ‘ligtas na balik eskwela’ movement carries the call for 1) concrete medical solutions against health and livelihood crisis; 2) keeping schools safe by providing adequate water supply, constant sanitation, and disinfection, and free hygiene kits, among others; 3) quality education for all, which can be achieved by giving resources for distance learning such as gadgets, learning materials, and access to the internet; 4) democratic consultations for the demands of students, teachers and parents; and 5) junk of tuition and other school fees that add to the burden of students. In addition, the youth organization argued that the pandemic just revealed the actual status of education in the country.
“Dahil sa pandemya, nailantad ang totoong mukha ng ating sistema ng edukasyon. Taliwas sa kanilang layunin na siguraduhing ang edukasyon ay natatamasa ng lahat, patuloy na binabalewala ng sistema ang hinaing ng nakararami,” Rise for Education – UP Diliman said in a statement.
(Because of the pandemic, the true face of our education system was exposed. In contrast to their aim of ensuring that everyone has equal access to education, the system continues to neglect the demands of the majority).
Looking back at De Vera's statement, we are still far from returning to the physical or traditional face-to-face classes. Our current situation shows little difference from the dark place we were at during the first months of the pandemic. It is the result of the continuous neglect and misplaced priorities of the government. Unfortunately, making the situation worse for students, De Vera just killed the last shred of hope that they have about going back to school again and living the normal school life they had before.
Nonetheless, the call for 'ligtas na balik eskwela' stands still. It was strengthened by the appeal to vaccinate students, teachers, and other school staff, in hopes for the reopening of schools and going back to face-to-face classes gradually.
It is about time for the government to see and realize the real condition of the students and teachers, who experience all these changes and challenges first-hand. Likewise, it is about time to implement medical solutions to the long-due health crisis we have been under for more than a year.
True enough, we do not want to hamper learning even during a pandemic, and of course, it is the government's job to ensure that. However, learning should be presented in the safest, most accessible and quality means because, after all, education is for all and not only for the privileged few. SYNC IN
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