Continuity with Quality

 (Problem and Solution Text Structure)

“Education must continue,” Secretary Leonor Briones stated as the issue with the

opening of classes was addressed to the public last year. With the current

coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Filipino K-12 students are now acquiring

their education through innovative modalities such as online learning and modular

learning. Producing internationally competent students requires a high-quality

education, and educational institutions must understand how to provide it to their

students. As the school year continues in a different setting, the Department of

Education (DepEd) should consider further preparation and regulatory measures to

deliver quality education to schools and their students.

With the Philippines' current situation, learning continuity is essential but it should be

done with quality. To avoid disruption, the DepEd Secretary insisted on learning

continuity, but there are underlying implications to focusing just on development and

neglecting its true purpose — quality education. The present educational system has

shifted from face-to-face learning, and its modalities only cover the Most Essential

Learning Competencies (MELC). This implies that several competencies were

omitted to focus on the ones that are required. But, those omitted competencies

impart a key role in establishing connections between lessons during face-to-face

classes. Meanwhile, modular learning lacks teacher interaction, while online classes

are limited by poor internet connections and power outages. These circumstances

affect how the students will have the expected optimum learning as the school year

continues abruptly.
As the situation of the pandemic is uncertain, the preparation of the department with

regards to the opening of classes was insufficient amid changes with the schedule.

Last year, the administration and the DepEd were considering certain circumstances

that might affect the opening of classes. According to the Philippine News Agency

(PNA), the DepEd initially set August 24, 2020, as the school opening. With this, the

department was expected to accomplish the tasks of module preparations, dry runs,

and training with that short range of time. Soon after, President Rodrigo Duterte by

amendment of the Republic Act No. 11480 has moved the opening of classes anew

to October 5, 2020, due to the worsening pandemic. However, it can be seen that

there have been anomalies with the printed modules and video lessons containing

errors that might have not passed with quality assurance because of lacking

preparation time. In the Manila Times news report, the department has received 41

reports of errors just within the start of classes last year. These situations with

regards to the correctness and effectiveness of the learning materials could have

been prevented by further checking, counseling, and proofreading with ample time to

avoid confusion to learners.

Furthermore, not all students and educators are prepared to cope with the new

modalities. Over 2 million students are not enrolled as the second year of remote

classes begins, according to DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan's report

to the Senate. Based on the Learner Enrollment Survey Form (LESF), the majority of

students do not have access to a learning device such as cellphone, tablet, or

laptop, and the majority of students do not have a family member who could teach
them. These are responsible accounts for why there have been circulating demands

of academic freeze in social media last year.

Meanwhile, Secretary Briones considered the two years of distance learning as a

success as the education department assured the public that around 26 million

enrolled learners will receive enhanced quality self-learning modules (SLMs) for

School Year 2021-2022 through partnerships with radio and television stations.

These modalities, on the other hand, are unfavorable to students who lack the

capacity and abilities to learn by themselves. The current educational status problem

is how the department will know the effectiveness of the materials and the

knowledge gained by the students if they are simply completing the tasks in the

given modules. This will only further be reflected on the learning proficiency of

Filipino students who acquired this distance learning in the coming years.

Distance learning is a novel concept in the education department's curriculum. This

school year is the second time the department has incorporated the idea of distance

learning in the current curriculum. Nonetheless, the Philippines' existing educational

situation cannot adapt to this learning because it has not yet been integrated into the

K-12 curriculum in previous years. The department must review their strategies and

utilize techniques from other nations that have previously employed distance

learning. Together with the government, the cooperation of all to fully extend their

efforts serves a vital part to produce quality, highly competent, and competitive

graduates.
As the department struggles to push through distance learning amidst the pandemic,

Filipino students are somehow deprived of quality education for their optimum

acquisition of knowledge. It will only be reflected onto students currently

experiencing the said distance learning by their performance in the higher grade

levels when the public health crisis ends. Nevertheless, it is hoped that every Filipino

student acquires the education that they truly deserve.