Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the government should “immediately” assess the effectiveness of distance learning for the coming school year. Especially with challenges that hounded learners this current school year that include lack of gadgets, electricity, unreliable internet connection, insufficient learning space and issues on the quality of modules.
With the possibility of the country returning to ‘normal’ by the end of the year, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian wants to know if the Philippines is ready to go back to face-to-face classes.
Gatchalian recently filed a resolution that seeks to hold hearings to assess whether or not basic education institutions can deliver quality education next school year, whether through face-to-face classes, distance learning, or other alternative delivery modes.
The senator said the government should “immediately” assess the effectiveness and challenges that hounded distance learning for the coming school year that include lack of gadgets, electricity, internet connection, appropriate learning space and issues on the quality of modules.
Gatchalian said the lack of physical interaction, too much screen time, and pressures leading to depression were likewise identified as challenges.
He added that students were also more exposed to sexual predators who took advantage of them online just to help them finance distance learning.
“After a year of distance learning where we faced so many challenges, it’s important and timely that we use lessons learned to ensure that the next school year would be more effective in delivering education to our youth,” Gatchalian said.
According to a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by Gatchalian, only 46 percent of Filipinos with a child in basic education say that their child is learning, 30 percent cannot say whether their child is learning or not, and 25 percent say that their child is not learning.
The same poll revealed that the top concerns raised by parents, guardians and learners nationwide are difficulty in answering modules (53 percent), intermittent internet connection (43 percent), difficulty in focusing or laziness to listen (42 percent) and lack of gadgets for online learning (36 percent).
The Department of Education (DepEd) has eyed August 23 as the start of academic year 2021-2022, but there is still uncertainty as to whether the next school year will also use the distance learning system. (ONT/With report from the Philippine Star)
Tags: #SherwinGatchalian, #onlineeducation, #DepartmentOfEducation, #facetofaceclasses