Second Chance

Repeating for another year, the Department of Education has been preparing for
the possible extension of distance learning since the vaccines for COVID-19 for children
below 16 may not be available until the summer of 2022. A second mistake should not
be tolerated but a second chance to fill the gaps is what the new education system
needs.
At the moment, some schools was no longer a place for students as DepEd
reported that it turned over 6,148 classrooms as facilities into isolation for COVID-19
patients. Both the state and the citizen become liable in controlling the spread of the
virus to win over the surging COVID cases and get back the waived classrooms.
In the light of the drought of home internet connectivity, the Philippines has
moved up to 86th spot in its global mobile internet speed rankings from 111 th rank.
Additionally, the Department of Information and Communications Technology have
allowed the construction of common towers in public schools to provide connectivity
especially in far-flung areas.
On the other hand, the rumbling protest of the students about academic freeze is
still a never-ending debate. “Sobrang hirap lalo na sa upcoming college student, lahat
tayo mahihirapan kaya itigil na lang natin [ito],” Sherrie Mae Geroniano, HUMSS 11
student lamented.
Likewise, the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that has yet to
hold in-person classes. Only if the department use the remaining preparation time to
adjust the weight of the curriculum to the level of student’s retention and teacher’s
capacity, there could be chance to make it a school year to anticipate.
The year 2022 may cancel its name to be the back-to-school year but not as the
redemption year for a stricken education system. An unending dilemma should meet an
effective plan so the second chance to improve distance learning will not go into waste.