There are still over 600,000 household members nationwide bereft of the capacity to provide instructional support to the Department of Education’s distance learning program, DepEd data showed.
Data provided to the BusinessMirror showed there were 629,943 parents or guardians who cannot give instructional support to the schoolchildren based on a survey conducted by DepEd.
In the same survey, results showed that 11,131,180 parents/guardians have the capacity to assist their children in the house; 2,388,552, elder siblings; 955,153, grandparents; 891,278, extended members of the family; 366,533, others (tutor, house helper); and 940, 633 can do independent learning.
Undersecretary for Planning and Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development Jesus Mateo told the BusinessMirror that this is where the Learning Support Aides (LSAs) that they are targeting to hire for this school year will focus on.
Although Mateo did not give the exact numbers of LSAs that will be hired by DepEd, he said that these LSAs will help augment ongoing learning continuity efforts of the department.
The DepEd is eyeing to hire LSAs to assist teachers and parents in the delivery of basic education services in the distance learning setup. LSAs refer to individuals who qualify in assisting teachers to provide learning opportunities using various learning delivery modalities in promoting achievement and progression of learners.
Problematic Internet access
In a related development, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian bared that online learning mode for public schools remain remote with barely four days from opening of classes due to problematic access to Internet.
The senator issued the disclosure after consulting concerned public school officials who aired doubts over the feasibility of fully implementing online education when classes resume on October 5.
Based on information he gathered after “directly consulting principals, division schools, our superintendent and aside from the DepEd, other private school organizations,” he gathered that the learning modules have been distributed close to around 80 to 85 percent.
“The school divisions are still distributing their modules, majority of students are learning from modules,” Gatchalian reported. “Unfortunately, less than 40 percent of our families in our public school system have access to the Internet or some sort of gadget so the vision of using online learning for public school system seems remote and not completely feasible.”
The senator explained that the alternative mode is the modules, noting: “These are the modules our students will receive for the kindergarten all the way to Grade 3, parental guidance and parental support is very important because these are young kids, they need a lot of guidance and direction so the parents will play an active role in their learning.”
“Those who are in Grade 4 and above, they’re considered intermediate and independent learners so they can learn just by following the modules which are designed for students to learn by themselves and then the teachers will monitor and assess if indeed they are learning or not,” he noted.
At the same time, Gatchalian confirmed that “digitalization” is a major component of alternative mode of education. “In the long run, we really need to practice what we call blended learning, we need to make blended learning as the better normal of our education system, meaning all children will have to learn via face-to-face and via online, that should be the norm already.”
Gatchalian recalled that when the Covid pandemic struck, “it took us a long time to figure out what to do to continue our classes. If we had online learning built-in and if we are practicing blended learning then transitioning will be easier and faster in the long run.”
“We admit that it will cost the families to buy the gadgets and government needs to put the necessary infrastructure because even though you have gadgets, if you don’t have connectivity it is impossible to pursue that and at the same time we have to tweak our curriculum in order to implement that,” he said, adding: “Our curriculum is based on face-to-face but we need to fine tune and tweak our curriculum in order to implement blended learning.”
Learning should reach the most vulnerable–Unicef
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), meanwhile, lauded the Philippine government’s decision to start classes with blended approaches to suit the specific needs of Filipino schoolchildren.
In a news statement, Unicef also reiterated that Covid-19 “is not just a health crisis but also a learning crisis.”
“The sheer scale at which schoolchildren have gone unreached constitutes an education emergency on a global scale. The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come. During times of crises and emergencies such as Covid-19, children experience stress, fear, and anxiety. Schools do much more than teach children how to read, write and count. Schools help bring a sense of normalcy to children’s lives,” the same statement read.
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed high risks for disadvantaged children already lagging behind on learning, Unicef said.
Equity should be placed at the core of education interventions to provide the same learning opportunity to children who are most vulnerable and are from the most marginalized communities. Inability to address these fuels inequality and reverses progress made in recent decades, the UN agency added.
“Evidence shows that for the most marginalized and vulnerable, missing out on school may lead to child labor, teenage pregnancy, and other situations that can keep them trapped in the cycle of poverty,” Unicef said.
“Children with disabilities and children from indigenous groups, whose risk to be left behind has been magnified in this context, should also be prioritized to prevent negative outcomes that can last a lifetime. Postponing learning, despite the availability of alternative means, makes it less likely that they will ever return to school,” it added.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila