Education throughout Pandemic: A Privilege or Disadvantage?

Education, something that one should have and something that everyone has every right
to. It is not something that children should neglect but rather something they must pour most of
their attention to. Education is at the same time a right and also a necessity no matter you’re
your color, your race, your status in life, and your age is. Education is one thing that should
always be fair for everyone however, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in year
2020, it got us all second guessing.
Ladies and gentlemen, peers and colleagues, a pleasant day to you all! It is indeed great
to have everyone gathered here today as we talk about something that is a real necessity to our
society―Education. As we all know, education is a very broad topic with various branches of
subtopics, but for today, I narrowed it down to a single subject matter. And that would be
Education throughout Pandemic. Is education in the present a privilege or a disadvantage to
learners, teachers, and even parents? We will get to unfold each of those as we go on with my
brief talk.
In the Philippines, education is something that our country has been striving to improve
and innovate. That is because it is known that the Philippines is amongst the countries that
ranked the lowest in international examination. Although there are some institutions and
universities that would exceed in many aspects, there are still those that has poor results
especially in subjects in Math and Science. And that situation has deteriorated more during the
pandemic; classes done online or modular, it has become even more difficult for student to
learn. Thus, the poor results in their academics. However, it still debated that Education during
this pandemic is still a privilege but others would say otherwise. I have been asking people as to
why they think education nowadays is still a privilege and they would usually tell me that
because even a lot of things have been going on, children still get to learn.
I would have quite to agree that education is a privilege because even in this worse
situation, students are still provided with proper education and teachings. This is a privilege
because there are a lot of children who are denied from their right to be educated. Yet, students
like us, are still continuing with our learning. And even given the circumstances, we are safe in
our homes doing what we consider now as the new mode of learning. But mind you, life is never
fair for everyone. Hence, the argument that education is also a disadvantage. This thought has
been brought open because even if there is a fair dissemination of learning materials and
discussions, students do not receive it the same way. Did I make it even more confusing? If yes,
then let us look at it in a simpler sense. Let us compare two students: one living her life in an air-
conditioned room with all the gadgets she needs and with a stable internet while the other one
shares the bedroom with her siblings and with only mobile phone and a poor internet
connectivity. Which one do you think would have the easier access to education? I think we
would all agree that it would be the first student. So, even if the teachers are doing their best to
offer high quality education, when their students’ life and the factors affecting her studies is
worsening, she would still not be able to achieve the proper learning competencies. There
would always two types of Filipino students, one who is privileged enough to study without
facing any difficulties and one who is struggling despite the noisy learning environment and poor
internet connection. And that is the reality of life and that is how people are divided into thinking
whether this pandemic made education a privilege or a disadvantage. The reason why I laid
both concepts here is to let you know that before we come into any conclusion in life, we should
always check as to why the argument or debate sprung.
Personally, if I would relate the situation to my own talk today, I would say that education
in the course of pandemic has been a disadvantage to me. Not only to me, but also to my peers
whom I know that shares the sentiments with me about the poor internet connection in our area
as well as the consecutive brownouts that we go through. It has been more difficult for me to
learn for reasons that I do my school works and at the same time I also tend to my younger
siblings and run errands for my parents too. The physical and emotional burden that online and
modular learning has brought to all of us is undeniably heavy. But as I say this, I cannot even
help to think that this is the only choice I got. My options are only limited to pursue education
even if I am struggling or to quit school. But I would never want to quit school, I have a family
that I should make proud. So, even though I am deeply struggling with balancing my time as a
student and as a daughter to my parents, I still go on with life. I complain most of the times but I
still try my very best to submit my outputs on time. What makes education thru pandemic more
deteriorating, is that we have to set aside our personal problems and go on with life as if nothing
bad happened. We get to finish reports and projects amidst our own emotional breakdown.
But then, I am merely expressing how I deemed education by this time of pandemic. Let
me remind everyone that there are always two sides of the coins, and each side contains a
story that always needs to be unfold. Whether it is a privilege or an advantage, we should
always look deeper for the reasons behind. This online and modular learning is purely
experimental and that not all learners are independent learners. That is why the answer to the
question would always depend upon you. Now let me ask you again, is education in the light of
pandemic has been a privilege or disadvantage?