TOPIC: The New Normal of Tarlac Christian College for the School Year:

Is Face-to-face Limited Classes necessary?

Verdict: Students are left behind in education,

should we compensate for the loss?

After the pandemic landed its adverse effects seen in economy, education, health, and
others, the conduct of face-to-face classes became vague and eventually complex throughout the
entire pandemic. The verdict, is face-to-face classes necessary? In the context of Tarlac Christian
College, is it conducive for the situation of many?

From a study conducted in September 2021, only 2 countries in the world have yet to
resume face-to-face classes. The Philippines is one of the two, and the only country in Asia. In
the Philippine context, limited face-to-face classes is feasible if and only if the government has
imbedded enough benefits to every family assuring them the they are safe amidst the global
virus. Having the same situation as to other countries, why do the Philippines is incapable of
starting classes in schools? Definitely, it is the implementation of the COVID response. The roll
out of vaccines was slow and incompetent. From the very beginning, the education sector was
aware of the challenges posed by blended learning to both students and educators. But blended
learning was considered to be better than nothing as the pandemic drove the country’s citizen to
stay at home due to great number of COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, the setup of every
household will take part in resumption of ‘supposedly’ face-to-face classes. The lack of means in
gadgets and internet connectivity in pure online classes are one of the hurdles in the conduct of
such. The number of student enrollees has diminished since the start of online schooling,
approximately 2.7 million students did not enroll.

Aside from these factors, many people had lost their source of income due to the
pandemic, with this the family cannot sustain the basic needs of the children including the
education. Again, face-to-face classes is possible and attainable if the government could adjust
and help the students to adapt to the new mode of learning. On the other note, the conduct of
face-to-face classes is applicable to those colleges, institutions, and universities which offers
program with laboratory courses or those programs which requires on-hand learning experience
which will be useful for their future work profession. Considering the situation of each student
enrolled in Tarlac Christian College, it is evident that not all students are capable and are
privileged enough to attend new normal classes but it is still doable for some who can.
Particularly in Tarlac, the local government has now adjusted for the new normal setup;
businesses are opened, establishments are now welcoming customers, the public transportation is
now place under minimum restriction, malls are now open for kids, why do schools are still
closed? Because of the challenges posed that were not abruptly addressed. Challenges that
require rapid actions, but failed to recognized.

Overall, too many students are being left behind in their education, and later on this will
bring huge impact in their personal development as well in national development – which affects
the whole country. If concrete plans and precautions are proposed and implemented, people are
safe, teachers and students can go to school without worrying if they might catch the virus in
their environment, face-to-face classes must resume.