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Friday, March 29, 2024

Restarting face-to-face classes

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With the national government making big inroads in keeping COVID-19 cases at bay, it makes eminent sense for the Department of Education (DepEd) to prepare for the full and nationwide implementation of face-to-face classes next academic year.

Two years of lockdowns and mobility restrictions no doubt hampered government efforts to fulfill its constitutional mandate to “protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and to take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all,” as well as to improve Philippine education.

While the DepEd developed and adopted various modes of imparting knowledge to children and the youth during the pandemic, from modules designed for online classes to blended learning that combined face-to-face classes and home-based learning, it also recognizes that face-to-face learning is very important for the mental, social and personal growth of students.

According to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, around 73.28 percent of the total number of public schools have been deemed qualified for in-person learning.

In the next academic school year, they’re looking at 100 percent face-to-face implementation, but modalities will depend on the actual situation in schools.

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Last month, some 34,238 schools were recommended fit to hold face-to-face classes. Over 33,000 of these are public schools while the remaining 1,174 are private schools.

The return of face-to-face classes is most welcome. But more important than the method of instruction under the new normal is the content of Philippine education.

Again, we turn to the Constitution to tell us what should be the focus of our educational system.

The fundamental law says our schools should “inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship.”

There’s more: it should “strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.”

That’s quite a long list of what an ideal educational system should teach our youth.

We recall that the World Bank said recently that Philippine education is in serious crisis. Proof?

It said one in every four Grade 5 students does not have the reading and mathematics skills for Grade 2 or 3, and four in every five 15-year-old students do not understand basic mathematical concepts such as fractions and decimals that should be mastered by fifth graders.

“There is a crisis in education—which started pre-COVID-19, but made worse by COVID-19,” the World Bank said, as “more than 80 percent of children do not know what they should know” in school.

If that’s the case, then the incoming DepEd leadership to be led by the Vice President-elect will have to hit the ground running, and prove that it has the competence to undertake the necessary— and urgent – reforms in the field of education.

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