Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday, April 24, pressed the government to address issues with its distance learning program after a Pulse Asia survey found that more Filipino parents are uncertain and do not believe that their children are learning enough.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate basic education committee, cited a Pulse Asia poll that asked 1,200 parents or guardians nationwide whether or not their children are learning under the distance learning system being implemented amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The survey, commissioned by the senator and conducted from February 22 to March 3, found that only 46 percent of the parents or guardians with kids in basic education said their children are learning, while 55 percent are either unsure if or believe that their kids are not learning.
Of the 55 percent, 25 percent said their children are not learning.
The parents said that they and their children also encountered educational problems during the pandemic, with the difficulty in answering modules being the most common (53 percent), especially among respondents in Mindanao.
Aside from the self-learning modules, parents and children also had problems with their internet connection, difficulties in focusing or too lazy to study, or had no gadgets to use for online learning.
Parents also have less or no time to guide their children and are finding internet services expensive. Some raised that they do not understand teachers' lectures and that they spend long hours on online learning.
Gatchalian said the survey results show the poor quality of distance learning. He pointed out that this adds to the urgency of addressing the quality of distance learning and prioritizing education in the country’s recovery efforts.
“Bagama’t pinagsisikapan nating ituloy ang edukasyon sa gitna ng pandemya, makikita nating marami pa rin sa mga mag-aaral ang hindi natututo sa ilalim ng distance learning at pati ang kanilang mga magulang ay nahihirapan din (While we are working to ensure the continuous education amid the pandemic, we can see that many of our students are not learning under the distance learning, and even their parents are suffering, too)," he said.
"Kung hindi natin tututukan ang pag-angat sa kalidad ng edukasyon sa kalagitnaan at sa pagtatapos ng pandemya, lalong mapag-iiwanan ang ating mga kabataan (If we will not prioritize the improvement of the quality of education during and after the pandemic, the more that our children will be left behind)," he stressed.
Gatchalian raised that the low educational attainment of parents and guardians could also be a factor on distance learning woes.
He cited that under the 2015 Family Income and Expenditure Survey released in 2017, up to 54 percent of Filipino household heads have not completed high school.
Whether or not they have the time to guide their children, parents could still be struggling, Gatchalian said.
The senator said that while the government is rolling out its COVID-19 vaccination program, authorities should also be preparing for the safe reopening of schools and the resumption of face-to-face classes.
The Senate, last March, adopted a resolution which calls on the government to immediately launch a pilot testing of localized limited face-to-face classes in low-risk areas identified by the Department of Education (DepEd).