Classrooms in many areas in Luzon are currently empty, as the Philippines is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, which can only be defeated by physical distancing. While children and teenagers are reportedly less affected by Covid-19, they must stay away from their schools for now as they could carry the virus that causes the disease to their homes. They have been away from their schools since March 17, when government implemented the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon to contain the spread of the disease.
The Department of Education has announced that classes will start on August 24, but it is exploring other options to limit face-to-face interaction to prevent a second wave of Covid-19 cases. DepEd said in a statement it issued on May 11 that even in areas where schools will be allowed to open, physical distancing will still be required. This means that schools will have to combine face-to-face learning with distance learning.
The big challenge for the DepEd is not just to ensure the health and continued education of children during the pandemic, but also to prevent Covid-19 from deepening the divide or inequality between rich and poor kids. Given the uncertainties created by Covid-19 and the lack of a vaccine, we urge the government to explore extensively the adoption of other learning modalities, such as the use of television and radio. This will serve the purpose of delivering educational materials to those in remote areas while we await improvements in Internet connectivity.
To reach students in far-flung areas, government should upgrade the capability of public TV and radio stations by investing in equipment, such as transmitters. Public school teachers must be trained to provide education via distance learning. Expanding distance learning also entails fast-tracking efforts to provide free Wi-Fi in other areas, as mandated by Republic Act (RA) 10929.
Enacted in 2017, RA 10929 includes public basic education institutions and state universities and colleges as well as Technical Education and Skills Development Authority technology institutions in the coverage of the free Internet access program. However, Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian noted that the Department of Information and Communications Technology has fallen short of its target of adding 5,308 sites in 1,500 cities. Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education Arts and Culture, said the list provided in the DICT web site indicated that there are only 3,707 live sites for the free Wi-Fi for all hotspots in public places.
This backlog will present huge challenges to government efforts to shift to online learning during a public health crisis. And it will be difficult to erase this backlog and retool public school teachers by August given the restrictions to mobility. What compounds the problem for public educators is the fact that they do not have the necessary equipment, such as laptops, that will allow them to teach online.
We support Senator Gatchalian’s call to conduct an inquiry into the implementation of RA 10929 to find out how we can improve and move forward. In revisiting the law, we hope policy-makers will remember the lessons from this Covid-19 pandemic. In preparing the Philippines for the future, it would do well for policy-makers to keep in mind the disruption caused by an organism that is invisible to the naked eye.
Image credits: Luis Carlos Torres | Dreamstime.com