Forty-five percent of families with enrolled members said their expenses in the current blending learning system are lower than in the traditional face-to-face setup, a survey issued Saturday, March 13, revealed.
This consisted of 19 percent saying it is “much lower now” and 26 percent saying it is “somewhat lower now,” based on the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The poll also found out that 37 percent of families with enrolled members aged five to 20 years old said their expenses are “higher now.”
The figure composed of 25 percent saying their expenses are “much higher now” and 12 percent saying they are “somewhat higher now.”
Meanwhile, 17 percent of families said their expenses are neither higher nor lower now.
The survey, the first in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was conducted from Nov. 21 to 25, 2020, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults with ages 18 years old and above nationwide.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) has imposed the blended learning setup for this school year to ensure that students could continue with their education despite the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“It is called ‘blended’ because schools can offer a mix of two or more learning modalities to one student. This is in contrast to the largely traditional face-to-face learning system implemented in pre-COVID-19 times,” the SWS said.
The November 2020 survey also showed that 53 percent of families in the Visayas said their expenses for the current learning setup are “lower now” than previous expenses in the traditional way of learning.
“This is higher compared to percentages in Mindanao (47 percent), Balance Luzon (43 percent), and Metro Manila (35 percent),” the SWS said.
“Notably, the percentage of families who say their expenses are ‘much lower now’ is significantly higher in the Visayas (32 percent) than in other areas,” it added.
On the other hand, the poll body disclosed that 52 percent of families in Metro Manila said their expenses are “higher now” compared to percentages in Balance Luzon (37 percent), Mindanao (also 37 percent), and the Visayas (28 percent).
“The percentage of families who say their expenses are ‘much higher now’ is greatest in Metro Manila at 38 percent, followed by Balance Luzon (27 percent), Mindanao (22 percent), and the Visayas (16 percent),” said the SWS.