Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday, September 11, pressed the government to allow as soon as possible limited face-to-face classes in the country as he cited long-term effects of school closure on children and national development.
"Dapat sa lalong madaling panahon bumalik na tayo sa face-to-face, hindi na natin kaya ang isa pang taon na walang face-to-face. Maraming magulang ang hirap, maraming bata ang hirap, at ang bata po ay hindi natututo (We should resume with face-to-face classes as soon as possible, we cannot anymore afford another year without it. Many parents and children are having difficulties, and the child is not learning),” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
He said that in prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank estimated in 2019 the learning poverty in the Philippines at 69.5 percent.
Learning poverty is defined as the share of 10-year-old children who cannot read and understand a simple story.
Gatchalian stressed that the figure that could worsen because of the school closures.
He cited the World Bank’s simulation analysis of learning losses, which stated that Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) will go down from 7.5 years to 5.7 to 6.1 years, an equivalent of 1.4 to 1.7 years.
This means that the quality of learning for 12 years of basic education is only equivalent to an effective 5.7 to 6.1 years of schooling.
The country’s competitiveness would also be undermined because children’s economic potential and productivity in adulthood will be affected, the World Bank warned.
President Duterte has reportedly expressed openness to allow in-person classes in areas that are low risk for COVID-19 transmission.
The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier said that 120 schools are lined up for the proposed pilot test of face-to-face classes, which may start with children in kindergarten to Grade 3, as advised by health experts.
Still, Gatchalian stressed the the importance of ensuring the capacity of schools to enforce public health protocols, including the installation of adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
The lawmaker also reiterated the urgency of vaccinating teachers and learners, especially those aged 12-17, to protect them from the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant.