The Duterte administration has received a "failing" mark from students for its response in addressing students' demand amid online learning during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) lamented that the poorly prepared distance teaching and learning program failed to deliver accessible and quality education
"Dito ipinapakita kung gaano ka-hindi handa ang administrasyon ni Duterte sa edukasyon. Hindi na nga nakahanda sa tugon sa pandemya, nag-domino effect na sa edukasyon, trabaho, kawalan ng ayuda (It shows how unprepared the Duterte administration is for education and the pandemic response. It has since caused a domino effect in education, jobs, and lack of aid)," NUSP National President Jandeil Roperos said during the virtual State of the Student Address (SOSA) over the weekend.
Ineffective modules
The Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality, and Relevant Education (SEQuRe Education Movement) released a survey on the implementation of the distance learning program in public basic education in the country.
The said survey showed that 50.4 percent of teachers think that modules were not really self-learning, while four in every 10 students found errors in the module that they use.
In June, the Department of Education (DepEd) said it found a total of 155 errors in learning materials distributed to students under the distance learning set-up implemented this school year.
READ MORE: 155 errors found in learning materials – DepEd
Problems hounding distance learning
Struggles with gadgets and Internet connection also became one of the top problems among students teachers under distance learning.
"Yung teachers din natin sinasabi na nahihirapan din talaga silang magturo lalo na sa online classes dahil sila rin mismo ay apektado sa kawalan ng gadgets, kahirapan ng Internet connection lalo na sa rural areas (Our teachers also say that it's really difficult for them to teach especially in online classes because they also lack gadgets and are affected by the difficulty of Internet connection, especially those in rural areas)," Roperos said.
According to the same survey, two-thirds of the teachers said that DepEd failed to adequately provide for the needs of distance learning.
The survey also found that 87 percent of students raised unstable Internet connection as their main problem in online classes, while 71 to 72 percent of students and parents have experienced failing to attend online classes due to problems with gadgets, Internet connection, and distance learning expenses.
Call for safe reopening of schools
NUSP reiterated its push for the safe reopening of schools, citing the need to hasten learning recovery following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Simula pa lang nung full closure, panawagan na natin na maging handa sa rekisitos ng safe reopening of classes, but until now even a bit wala pa tayong nakikitang solusyong paano tayo unti-unting babalik sa ligtas na eskwela (Since the beginning of full closures of schools, we have been calling on the government to prepare the requirements to safely reopen schools, but until now we haven't seen a solution on how to gradually and safely return to schools)," Roperos said.
Roperos urged the government to allow face-to-face classes in low-risk areas.
"In low-risk areas relatively mababa yung kaso (the cases are low), mag-conduct ng (conduct) health risk assessment," she added.
For high-risk areas, meanwhile, NUSP prodded the government to provide the necessary resources and technologies for online classes and to adjust the curriculum, work-study load, and grading system of distance learning.
The group likewise pressed for the distribution of P10,000 financial aid for students struggling to study amid the pandemic.
Various student groups and networks have been lobbying for the provision of a one-time cash subsidy of P10,000 for each student and those who dropped out during the pandemic.