Covid or Not, Quality Education Continues

         With the advent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) which originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China, this severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become the fifth documented pandemic since the 1918 flu pandemic. Every continent in the world has been affected by this highly contagious disease, with nearly a million cases diagnosed and rapidly spreads and continuously evolves in the human population worldwide. The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought us so many circumstances that we have not, in living memory, experienced before. The impact of the outbreak is so widespread and in some places, very catastrophic. No doubt, the pandemic has grounded and strained us all. This health crisis has forced countries including ours to adapt to new ways of teaching students. The delivery of education has greatly changed because of this Covid-19 pandemic. Schools were closed and teaching had to be performed remotely with the use of modular and digital platforms. With a situation like this, the Department of Education under Sec. Leonor Briones had crafted the Basic Education - Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) which is the Department of Education's major response and commitment in protecting the health, safety, and well-being of learners, teachers, and personnel in order for education to continue under the health protocols set by the Department of Health and the World Health Organization. The BE-LCP aims to provide quality distance learning with the use of self-learning modules in digital and printed form, radio, television, and the internet. The DepEd has selected teachers who were trained to be teacher-broadcasters by the country's top journalists to deliver lessons through the DepEd TV since not all areas in the country have an internet connection. To assist more learners and teachers in distance learning amid the pandemic, the DepEd also upgraded its DepEd Commons which is an online learning platform for both public and private schools. Learners and teachers can access it free of data charges with the help of some mobile companies.

         With the continuity of education amid this pandemic, too many challenges came across in the delivery and quality of education. Problems on means to buy devices/gadgets for online learning, poor internet connectivity, adding with it is the way of connecting to the internet due to financial constraints, and of course not all parents are technologically educated. Children would learn on their own if this is the scenario. Parents would need to seek the assistance of relatives to meet this issue. Another problem that faces learners’ parents is their inability to teach their children since not all of them are college graduates. They foresee this as a huge task to hurdle, how could their children learn from them if they themselves are not educated? Working parents had also a dilemma of their own, how would they divide their time between working for a living and at the same time teaching their kids in their modules? Too many parent problems to face. Not only do we consider the device to use, but the way of connecting with the internet and parental guidance in support to student’s education is also at stake. Take into consideration our students who are the end product of the remote learning. Students are greatly affected; they need motivation to continue striving for excellence without a teacher in a modular class. They have to work independently at their own pace. It is but a trying time for them, coping, adjusting to the new normal way of teaching-learning. But through it all, this kind of teaching-learning process is the only way not to stop them from gaining knowledge. It is for their own good and benefit, securing their safety while learning within the four walls of their own homes.

         As Sec. Briones had said, “Education is not going to be the same as education during my time or during your time. It’s going to change, and the change has already started. We already recognize the signals; we see the increased role of technology and science. We see the need to encourage not only our teachers but our learners to not only specialize and memorize; but to know many things, to know how to analyze, to know how to be objective, to know how to come to break a problem apart, and come up with a solution. And so, despite the too many challenges and problems during the educational era of the pandemic, education continues. Whatever obstacles may come, together our teachers, parents, and learners will rise. Hand in hand schools, parents, and the community stakeholders will work together for the implementation of quality education that would benefit our students.” Face-to-face classes may not be resumed for now, but we still have distance learning as our means of getting quality education. We also have technological advancements as our aid and support in this distance learning. This Covid-19 pandemic shall not stop us from getting quality education and learning new things.

Online References:

Ferdinand B. Pitagan, JAMCO, Retrieved on October 23, 2021

https://www.jamco.or.jp/en/symposium/29/6/

Sensei Adorador, Rappler, Retrieved on October 23, 2021

https://www.rappler.com/voices/imho/opinion-are-students-learning-during-pandemic/

ViewSonic Staffs, ViewSonic, Retrieved on October 23, 2021

https://www.viewsonic.com/library/education/what-is-distance-learning-and-why-is-it-so-important/

Bharat Sharma and Safal Sethi, Zest IP, Retrieved on October 23, 2021

https://zestip.com/copyright-and-fair-use-in-india-during-covid-19/