ASSESSMENT: ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER

ISSUE: ONLINE CLASSES AMONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS STUDENT

Education has been a key part to society since the beginning of time. Without education we would
still be outside living primitively, without any math, science and an English language. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic that we’re experiencing, the Department of Education in support of the
Government and citizens made a decision to continue learning without physical contact. Distance
learning is usually a described in which an instructors post syllabi, reading assignments, schedules
on websites, and students send their assignments by email. Everyone has their own experience with
distance learning. The First problem is that everyone learns differently, and has their own ways of
processing information. The fact that a professor is speaking to you face to face is really beneficial
to some students. While, some students just want to fall asleep. Distance learning has brought a
whole new outlook on learning. Second is not everyone can afford the distance or online learning,
since it’s pandemic many of our parents experienced a difficulty in finding job in able to fulfill our
needs. Online learning is okay for those who have internet, but how about the less fortunate
students?

Covid-19, the coronavirus disease 2019 spreading at a rapid rate, all schools throughout the
Philippines were closed with the declaration of community quarantines in hopes of slowing the
increase of cases. The Department of Education (DepEd) eventually made the decision that the
opening of the coming school year will be on August 24. But some education officials have been
looking into the use of online platforms to start classes earlier than that date. Online schooling
provides virtual classes that a student takes at home alone or with a group, through either voice call
or a video call via applications such as Messenger, Google Zoom or Skype. Online learning
requires proper equipment such as a smartphone that can support calls or video, and a stable
internet connection. Only a fraction of public schools, however, have access to the internet, so they
will not be able to meet the requirement of a stable connection. According to DepEd’s ICT Service
Director Aida Yuvienco in a recent interview with “GovInsider,” “Only 26 percent of public
schools are connected to the internet or are able to connect to the internet”, and she added that
nearly 5,000 public schools in remote areas do not even have access to electricity. Quarantine
throughout most of the Philippines, education officials have proposed the use of online platforms
for school year 2020-2021 to continue the schooling of millions of Filipino students. The
Philippines, however, cannot support online schooling for most of its students, and the attempt will
prove ineffective for majority of the country.

Philippines is far from being technologically advanced, being 83rd out of 138 countries in terms of
digital readiness, according to the Department of Science and Technology. The country is far too
unprepared for the sudden proposal of online learning while DepEd has pushed online learning for
private schools and ensured all students will be able to avail of it, they cannot do the same for
public schools. Families can avail private teachers and courses, but public schools as a whole will
not be able to support online learning for most of their students. Due to poverty, not all families
have the resources to get the required equipment for online learning. These families simply cannot
adjust to the requirements for online schooling and will otherwise be left behind or forced to find
other methods of schooling for their children.

SUBMITTED TO:
MS. ELISA ESTARIS

SUBMITTED BY:
MS. EZEKIEL SAGAO