Education under the new normal “isn’t and shouldn’t” be confined to mandatory online classes, a group of college students on Wednesday said.
In a statement, the Student Solidarity Network to Survive COVID-19 said “the assumption, therefore, that our call to end online classes is rooted in indolence, that those who call for online classes to end do so out of laziness, is a corrosive assumption and should not be carried over to our new normal.”
It hit Commission on Higher Education chairperson Prospero de Vera’s defense of online classes as part of the flexible learning arrangements under the new normal due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, saying they were not even consulted.
“It is not that we students are opposed to online classes. To a young generation that grew up with the Internet, the move online is expected, even considered an inevitability before school administrations abruptly began talking about it. This, however, does not excuse the haphazard imposition of online class schemes,” it said.
“We cannot afford to roll out new policies and new set-ups without considering all parties. Students are crucial stakeholders. Education and educational policies always have students as their primary end. Student inputs are therefore invaluable to the formulation and implementation of a new normal educational environment,” it added.
Earlier, De Vera, in a radio interview, batted for online classes under the flexible learning arrangement, citing 20 percent of the state universities and colleges (SUCs) have already set up such system as a viable option.
“Commissioner De Vera’s position of giving school administrators a near-total free hand in aggressively pushing for and maintaining their online class schemes does not inspire confidence among learners,” the Student Solidarity Network said.
Saying students and their councils as well as other student organizations have already been conducting a series of dialogue with their school administrations since the beginning of online class scheme, many of these administrators “have remained intransigent to the calls of their students with even cases of harassment being recorded against vocal students, it claimed.
The Student Solidarity Network to Survive CODID-19 said they have launched #SixStudentDemands petition to urge CHEd to allow them to participate in decision-making as to what learning schemes must be adopted amid COVID-19.
“Such a situation suggests that while higher education institutions’ online class contexts vary, most HEIs are not actually prepared for this mode of learning. And even if schools were ready to shift toward online classes, it does not mean that students and faculty members have the means to, as shown by the data that member councils and organization of the Student Solidarity Network have collated and included in the petition,” it said. (RIO)
In the Senate, Senator Win Gatchalian said learning from home is the “new normal” for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 that will ensure the safety and continued education of the country’s more than 27 million learners amid the threat of COVID-19.
With the opening of classes in August, the Senate education committee chairperson said students and teachers would still need to maintain social distancing measures to slow down possible virus transmission in schools.
Gatchalian said this would entail allowing only a maximum of 20 learners in a classroom who can come to school on staggered schedules.
However, he emphasized that going back to school does not necessarily mean face-to-face learning because even when learners do not report to classrooms, they should continue their lessons at home with the help of flexible learning modalities, including online platforms, television, radio, and printed materials.
He said that the mix of digital, low-tech, and no-tech methods will help the Department of Education reach all learners, especially those in the far-flung areas without access to the internet.
Since not all learners have connectivity and available gadgets for online-based learning, the senator said that television and radio will be key to reaching more learners nationwide.
According to a 2019 study conducted by Dataxis, a global firm specializing in media business, 18.7 million households in the Philippines still watch television and still the preferred medium of 93 percent of Filipinos.
Under Republic Act No. 8370 or the Children’s Television Act of 1997, television stations are mandated to allocate a minimum of 15 percent of its daily total airtime for child-friendly shows.
Global media intelligence firm Kantar Media’s 2019 Media Trends Study also revealed that up to 52 percent of Filipinos still own a radio.
While Gatchalian sees a more prominent role for traditional media in DepEd’s Learning Continuity Plan, he proposes that the number of subjects be reduced only to the core subjects such as Math, English, and Science to name a few. He also added that DepEd should build partnerships with state-run media organizations such as the People’s Television Network (PTV-4) and the Radyo ng Bayan to air these learning materials.
Gatchalian added that the time leading to the opening of classes should focus on preparing teachers, parents, and learners on using different tools for home-based learning.