THE LOW enrolment turn out may be an indication that the Department of Education’s Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) is not attuned to the people’s current situation and even seen more as a burden than a tool to help families survive the crisis. This is a sad fact as it is contrary to the very objective of education to be the source of solutions for the many problems that plague the society.
Some argue that the “weakness” of the LCP starts with DepEd’s perceived refusal to accept that our situation now is far from being normal. It pushes for the continuity of formal education as usual, while seeing that modalities in the delivery of education are the only problem.
We urge DepEd officials to open their eyes to reality. The pandemic has gravely disrupted the lives of our people. Millions of families have lost their livelihood which make them more vulnerable to infection especially now that community transmission is growing. How can we expect these families to pretend that the situation is normal and their children can go on with formal education?
Filipino families value education immensely, but the time makes it especially difficult for them to commit to the requisites that the LCP asks from parents and learners.
It is important to note that across the globe and even in the richest countries, opening a formal school year amid the pandemic is a raging debate. Despite the availability of needed technologies in the First World, they find the inadequacy of distance learning modes to achieve the competencies required by the formal curriculum. On the other hand, efforts to conduct face-to-face classes are perennially disrupted by problems of virus transmission.
It is high time for DepEd to ponder on the question: what is the duty of education amid a pandemic? This framework should set the characteristics, content, and delivery modes of a relevant and viable learning continuity plan amid a pandemic.
