INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PEDAGOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND LIFELONG LEARNING

2020, 1(1), EP2001

ISSN 2732-4699 (ONLINE)

REVIEW

OPEN ACCESS
HTTP://WWW.IPD.COM/

The COVID-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Education in the Philippines: The New Normal

Jose Z.Tria Ⓒ

Faculty, College of Education, Catanduanes State University, PHILIPPINES *Corresponding Author: jbl-edu.ph

Citation: Tria, J. Z. (2020). The COVID-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Education in the Philippines: The New Normal. International Journal of Pedagogical Development and Lifelong Learning, II, ep2001.
https://doi.org/10.30935/pd/8311

ABSTRACT

The present COMID-19 pandemic has brought extraordinary challenges and has affected the educational sectors, and no one knows when it will end. Every country is presently implementing plans and procedures on how to
contain the virus, and the infections are still continually rising in the educational context, to sustain and provide quality education despite lockdown and community quarantine, the new normal should be taken into
consideration in the planning and implementation of the "new normal educational policy". This article presents opportunities for responding issues, problems and trends that are currently arising and will arise in the future
due to COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of education in the Philippines - the new educational norm.

Keywords: new normal, education, COVID-19, global pandemic Received: 22 Apr. 2020. Accepted: 25 May 2020

clinical trial (Cortegiani et al., 2020, Dong et al., 2000; Gautre et al,
INTRODUCTION 2020).

One of the most recent public health emergencies of global concern is
the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which started in China and almost
infected every country in the whole world. This disease is caused by a
novel coronavires (SARS-CoV-2, previously known as 2019-CoV) and
has received global attention from growing infections and on how to
eradicate the disease and flatten the carve of infections (Guo et al.,
2020). Symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath which
can be transferred through close contact with an infected person by
coughing, sneezing, respiratory droplets or aerosols (Sheron et al,
2020). Though it affects people of all ages, it is most vulnerable to
adults, children and people with underlying medical conditions (WHO,
20206). As of this time, the number of infections and deaths is still
increasing worldwide. In order to avoid the infection, containment,
mitigation, contact tracing, self-isolation, social distancing, wearing of
face masks, improved health care systems, hand-washing and surface
cleaning is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO,
20206).
The fight against the threats to COVID-19 pandemic suffered profound
effects and impacts on almost all sectors in the human race These
have resulted in the widespread disruption such as travel restrictions
(Chinazzi et al., 2020), closure of schools (Viner et al., 2020), global
economic recession (Fernandes, 2020), political conflicts (Barrios &
Hochberg, 2020), racism (Habibi et al., 2020), and misinformation and
controversies (Enitan et al., 2020), to name a few. One of the most
affected is the educational sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic is still
existent today, and there are no specific vaccines or
medicines to eradicate this disease. We need to live to the new
normal; if not contained, we need to live with the disease as viruses
are constantly evolving (Denworth, 2020). However, scientists are still
on their way in studying and developing vaccines and presently in
.Ⓒ2020 BY THE AUTHOR PDLL BY BECTAC , UK. T HIS ARTIDE IS AN OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE DISTRIBUTED UNDER THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CREATIVE
For almost two pandemic months, most countries around the world
have temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread
of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce infections (UNESCO, 2020). This
closure has affected more than 1.2 billion learners worldwide with
more than 28 milion learners in the Philippines (UNESCO, 2020).
Responses like community lockdown and community quarantine of
several countries have led students and teachers to study and work
from home which led to the delivery of online learning platforms
(Crawford et al, 2020). However, the implementation of online
learning posed different risks, problems and challenges to both the
teachers and students, especially in the higher education institutions
(HEIs) (Bao, 20200. In the Philippines, there are 10,794 cases as of May
11, 2020 and is still increasing (DOH, 2020) with more than four million
cases worldwide (Worldometer, 2020). In response to these situations,
educational leaders decided to adopt the new normal in education. At
the basic education, the Department of Education (DepEd) will be
implementing the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP), which will be in
effect School Year 2020-2021 and classes will open on August 24, 2020
instead of June 2020 (DepEd, 2020). In the higher education sector,
the Commission on Higher Education, HEls were given academic
freedom and should implement available distance learning, e-learning,
and other alternative modes of delivery to students (CHED, 2020).
Several universities have opted to implement their own policies
regarding