Written by Aliyah Nicole L. Villostas
Visuals by Miriam Ruano
Recently, the amount of reported COVID-19 cases has gone up due to the spread of new variants such as Beta, Delta, and Lambda. In the past three months, the Philippines recorded the highest number of confirmed cases of more than a shocking 27,000 last September 9th, 2021. In response to this, the government has issued a new quarantine classification system for the National Capital Region, narrowing everything down to the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). In addition to this, a four-level alert system has been added, with the strictest level only allowing those above 18 and under 65 to be permitted to go out.
The effects of the pandemic on students’ education are still being felt even after nearly two years since the spread of the virus started, although arguably not in the same magnitude in every country. Due to recent cases, the Philippines has yet to allow a nationwide implementation of face-to-face classes, especially in the last three months. The surge leaves the Philippines as the only country in the world that has still not allowed students back in the classroom.
Despite new variants of the virus spreading, other countries have already started returning to classroom learning. Indonesia, which currently has the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia, already started opening schools back in early August. With the third-highest number of cases, Malaysia has pushed back its opening of classes from the initial date of September 1st to October 3rd. Thailand, recently ranking fourth in the number of cases, has resumed face-to-face learning in July under strict precautionary measures. Thai students commented that they felt limited due to the number of safety measures being put in place, yet still grateful that they can once again return to school.
The second academic year under the effects of the pandemic has just recently started, and not everyone is happy about it. Students and parents of an elementary school in Quezon City held up boards and signs protesting against another year of online learning, asking to bring back classroom learning in the Philippines. “Mabuti pa ang mga sugalan bukas na, mga paaralan sarado pa rin,” reads a sign being held up by a student.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also been prodding for the implementation of face-to-face classes to resume in the country. UNICEF Philippines’ head of education work, Isy Faingold, cited different approaches that other countries have used to carry out the gradual return to face-to-face classes safely. Faingold remarked that in order to advance, the Philippines must learn from other countries' experiences and apply these to the current situation while also making sure to adapt to the country’s challenges.
While classes remain conducted online, the government has already prepared a final list of 129 schools, a mixture of private and public, for a pilot face-to-face class run to be conducted in minimal-risk areas. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) has already approved the joint DepEd-DOH face-to-face guidelines for the said pilot run, and everything else is set for the pilot run to start. Students’ participation is entirely voluntary, and consent from guardians will be required. The president’s pilot run, which was recently approved, will last for two months, with classroom meetings only being held for half a day, every other week. Duterte has already commented on returning face-to-face learning, however, stating that he does not want to risk the safety of children with these matters.
Is the Philippines truly ready to return to a classroom setup given the rigorous organizing and planning? It can be observed that the various precautions and improvements being implemented daily to minimize the effects of the pandemic have been coming to effect. The number of vaccinations have been slowly rising, the alert level for different regions including the NCR have been lowering, and the amount of reported COVID-19 cases have also been in decline since the end of September. This supports the hopeful idea that many students, parents, and educators alike hold: that gradually bringing back face-to-face learning seems plausible, and may come into effect sooner than expected.
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