The Philippines must embrace technology and digitization, even as a recent survey by the Education department revealed that most parents prefer modular learning than online classes for their children, Vice President Leni Robredo said.
(Photo by Charlie Villegas / OVP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
During the “Webisode #5: Government Innovations on Education Under the New Normal,” Robredo said that it is high time for the country to keep up with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
“While modular learning may work for now, we need to start preparing for the future and embrace digitization as early as now,” she said in her message.
During the height of the outbreak, Robredo emphasized how technology “served for us as an instrument of service.”
Webisode 5 is a part of the series of online discussions for the youth on programs and innovations in education.
“For me, this is an opportunity for the country to keep up. We need to modernize, we need to adapt, we need to scale up, because it is the call of the times—and if we don’t act now, our learners and teachers will get left behind more,” she said.
Robredo cited a recent World Bank and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) study that said the Philippines lags behind its Southeast Asian neighbors when it comes to adopting digital technologies for business, governance, and education.
A separate survey by the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed that most parents or 8.8 million of those surveyed prefer modular learning as an alternative for face-to-face classes this school year.
It is followed by blended learning or the combination of learning through modules and online classes. Their last preference is online classes.
But even with these challenges, the vice president highlighted the importance of an “educated population” especially amid the threat of the coronavirus.
“In essence, our bedrock belief in education: Each one of us is a stakeholder—including, not only us adults but young leaders like you. We believe that the education of our children rests not only on the shoulders of the academe; it is a responsibility shared across the entire community,” she said.
“Because with an educated population, everyone benefits: The workforce becomes more competitive, the national pool of knowledge becomes vaster, and our collective capacity to innovate and find solutions becomes greater,” she stressed.
Robredo wants the youth to “collaborate more.” She said the youth should “find more people, more organizations, and work together.”
The lady official also urged them to “expand your circles” and empower each other.
“Innovate more. Take sure steps that inch us closer to our collective goal: to volunteer and create programs to help, even in the simplest ways, to tutor one kid, to raise awareness and consciousness,” she said.