A federation of teachers warned Wednesday of worsening disenfranchisement in the right to education of Filipino students as signs of distance learning failure continue show.
On the eve of the commemoration of the 2020 International Human Rights Day, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) named the right to education as “one of the most extensively violated right” under the pandemic.
This, the group said, is because an increasing number of youth and children are left behind in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) distance learning program due to its “inaccessibility and ineffectiveness.”
Citing regional reports from ACT leaders nationwide, the group noted that the “most alarming” of the distance learning problems is the decreasing participation of students who enrolled this school year. The group also reported an increasing number of students who have registered withdrawal from class enlistment.
“It disheartens our teachers that on top of the almost three million drop in enrollment this year, the educational system is failing to keep the enlisted students mainly due to the government’s failure to provide for the needs of distance learning and the unsuitability of the program’s design to the actual capacities and real conditions of the Filipino families,” said ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio.
During their National Council meeting held recently, ACT leaders reported the mounting number of unclaimed modules, unanswered retrieved modules, and dwindling attendance in online classes, showing that less and less enrolled students participate in distance learning.
For instance, ACT leaders in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos, Davao, Socsargen, and CARAGA reported of mounting “unclaimed modules” as economic work hinders parents from regularly claiming the materials for their children.
“Almost all regions signified that the content and form of the modules are too heavy for the students and even parents to understand, so much so that they just copy the answer keys provided, the parents accomplish the modules or they submit the modules unanswered,” ACT said.