THE current COVID-19 pandemic which has forced government to impose stringent community lockdowns has likewise compelled the education sector to explore other learning options outside the traditional classroom classes to address realities in the emerging “new normal” condition in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Department Education said the new options may include online learning, the use of printed instructional modules for students who may have remain at home when social distancing becomes imperative, and other similar arrangements.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), however, seems partial to online classes and said it “encourages Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to employ alternative learning systems, including online classes,” for college students.
The idea sounds interesting but House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, has branded online classes as “anti-poor” and will not be beneficial for poor students who have no computers at home or access to the Internet. Several student groups agree with him, pointing out many poor students “do not have Internet access, let alone computers and gadgets.”
Salceda noted that there are two million students enrolled in private schools and “with almost three months of no work and no income, 90 percent of parents and working students can’t even pay to finish their second semester” this school year. He said colleges may be compelling students to do virtual classes to justify collection of unpaid tuition.
With Congress now in session, Salceda, who also co chairs the House Economic Stimulus Response Cluster, said he will shortly file the Economic Stimulus Act which provides Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) to all non-TES college students.
The Economic Stimulus Act includes strong “structural response and economic reform strategies to shape the country’s socio-economic prospects” and keep consumer, labor, and business confidence up. It primarily aims to keep firms afloat, lift the economy from recessionary shock, and restore full employment.
“Doing education online is socially unjust because of the digital divide. Many poor families have no computers and may be unable to afford regular loads. Furthermore, it will have little impact on learning transmission given the slow and unstable Internet,” he noted.
He said online classes will also add pressure and anxiety that “may compromise mental health.” He proposes mass promotion for all college students this semester to lessen the crisis’ impact. Congress will realign R16 billion from Tertiary Education Subsidy in the 2020 General Appropriations Act to provide budget subsidy for students.
