BY EDUARDO Y. AREVALO, COO, PHINMA University of Iloilo
THE past months have seen some of the biggest changes in recent history. As we approach the third quarter of the year, one issue looms larger than others: should we resume education for almost 30 million Filipino students. Many have even questioned if we should resume classes at all. But in light of the consequences of prolonged school closures, many countries like Vietnam and Taiwan are successfully reopening their school systems. Why and how have they done it? How can we, in turn, safely reopen our schools?
Education in Times of Crisis
Education is a human right and has been a priority for Filipino families because it is the only way out of poverty. But in times of crisis, education is much more than that — it cultivates critical thinking and encourages solutions both big and small. It provides them the stability they need to be able to cope with loss, fear, and stress. And most of all, it reminds them that life has not stopped, that the future is still ahead. In short, education in times of crisis is not optional, but in fact, essential.
Education has always continued, even in times of crisis. Look at the child soldiers in Mozambique, war-affected youth in Guatemala, and child survivors of the Rwandan genocide. (Sinclair, 2003) UNHCR’s 1997 report on efforts on behalf of refugee children and adolescents highlighted how daily structured activities are an integral part of emergency response, second only to food distribution. This is because school closures have many, often irreversible consequences.
Prolonged School Closures Hurt Students
Closing schools, even briefly, doesn’t just impact mental health through social isolation, it also hurts children’s prospects. After the 2011 flooding in Thailand, Thamtanajit (2020) found a negative effect on the results of the national examinations, especially for Grades 6 and 9. It can also lead to lower earnings. Our own Department of Education (DepEd) estimates that each year students are not in school translates to a 10% loss in potential additional earnings.
There are also high social and economic costs especially for those in the low-income brackets. Five million students were out of school during the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in west Africa. Afterward, child labor increased. Unplanned teen pregnancies rose sharply. Access to clean water, sanitation, and information on disease prevention stalled. When schools reopened, many students did not return. (The Economist, 2020)
Reopening of Classes in the Wake of COVID-19
Some countries like Singapore, Australia, Sweden, and Taiwan have kept schools open, with face-to-face learning. The low health risk for students was one key factor. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among COVID-19 deaths, 99.9 percent have occurred outside the 15-to-24 age group. Efforts such as handwashing and home isolation have more impact on preventing the spread of disease than closing schools.
In the Philippines, reopening of classes in the wake of a pandemic is no simple task. At least 50% of learners struggle to access online learning material. Because of this, PHINMA Education is implementing a ‘4-10’ scheme based on the research of Uri Alon and Ron Milo of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. A person who contracts COVID-19 will have three days before they can pass it on to others. (Alon, Milo, & Yashiv, 2020) Thus we can reduce the spread with four days in school and 10 days at home. This is on top of lowering the classroom-to-student ratio and ramping up health measures.
PHINMA Education and the New Normal
According to former Education Secretary Edilberto C. de Jesus, “Experts do not expect a vaccine to be widely available before 18 to 24 months. We need to weigh the potential risks of a vaccine-less school reopening against the certain harm that will follow from a lengthy lockdown.” Thus, we need to base our strategies on emerging COVID-19 research and work with communities and local and national governments to prevent any further school closures. The risks of a carefully calculated reopening of classes are far more manageable compared to the known consequences of not reopening at all./PN
