Public schools are once again filled with the hustle and bustle of students after more than two years of remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines was among the last countries to partially or fully resume in-person classes in September last year, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
The prolonged school closure, the Unicef said, tremendously affected not only the quality of learning but also the emotional and cognitive development of children who were deprived of in-person interaction with their peers and teachers.
It was also around September last year when I started as the Inquirer’s education beat reporter, and my very first fieldwork was the first day of classes inside a public school teacher’s cramped apartment in Binondo, Manila.
The second year of distance learning saw little to no improvements, according to some teachers in Numancia Residences, a compound that provides free housing for teachers at nearby schools like Jose Abad Santos High School, Rajah Soliman High School and Pedro Guevarra and Marcela Agoncillo elementary schools.
Teachers fill gaps
I saw the same old problems like lack of gadgets and intermittent internet connectivity that disrupted online classes. Teachers went way beyond their means to compensate for the lack of resources and the learning modules with horrible errors.
The helpless casualties in all of this are the students, to whom the nation pins so much hope for a better future.
But not long after the school year 2021 to 2022 started, the Department of Education (DepEd) under former Education Secretary Leonor Briones kicked off limited in-person classes on Nov. 15, 2021. It was a prudent step.
Secretary Briones understandably took extra caution in the gradual transition to face-to-face classes amid the pandemic.
The DepEd laid down stringent guidelines in its “Schools Safety Assessment Tool,” which it used to determine whether a school was ready to hold in-person classes.
Our transition to face-to-face classes was excruciatingly slow compared to other countries, but the back-to-school strategy was commendable for being planned carefully.
Makati measures
One notable feature of the transition was the “shared responsibility” among the stakeholders—from the students, parents, teachers and school heads, up to the community, the barangay and the local authorities.
At Comembo Elementary School in Makati City, one of the schools that piloted the return to in-person classes, the local government provided virus-killing ultraviolet-C lights, air purifiers and proper ventilation in classrooms, discarding plastic barriers of questionable efficacy.
Makati took pride in its investment, which it said was backed by studies and research.
The city government also provided transportation for the students called “Dyipni Maki,” in which barangay staff and members of the school’s parent-teacher association managed the pickup points.
Enter Sara
Even before Vice President Sara Duterte took over Briones’ job, the DepEd was headed to full reopening of schools by the following academic year.
And so, on Nov. 2 all public schools began full face-to-face classes five times a week.
Since the previous DepEd administration already laid out the groundwork, Duterte only had to follow through with the plan.
Whereas schools previously had to comply with the requirements in the safety assessment tool before they could implement face-to-face classes, such strict order was scrapped when Duterte took over. A new set of general health and safety guidelines was laid down under DepEd Order No. 34.
To prevent COVID-19 transmission, the policy required, among other measures, physical distancing “whenever possible” and opening classroom doors and windows for ventilation.
Aral Pilipinas, a multisectoral network of advocates for safe school reopening, had called out the DepEd for its insufficient ventilation guidelines.
The group developed its own “Safe Schools Calculator,” which would measure the risk level for virus transmission in classrooms and policy recommendations to DepEd.
The previous education administration closely monitored and regularly updated the public on the COVID-19 situation in schools.
Data release halted
But now under Duterte, DepEd does not disclose information on the number of learners and teachers who tested positive following the return of face-to-face classes. Instead, it is now the local government that confirms whether there is clustering of COVID-19 cases in schools.
The Department of Health might have data on the number of positive cases in the pediatric population, but it does not specify whether they are enrolled students. As a result, we have no idea if there are ongoing outbreaks in schools.
Public health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon pointed out in a forum that for the safety of children, “we need to be transparent about our data.”
“How can we protect ourselves if we’re not empowered, educated and engaged about our data?” he said.
Mask rule relaxed
Taking a cue from President Marcos, the DepEd also eased the mask mandate in schools but classrooms in overpopulated urban areas are still packed like sardines.
While Duterte’s goal to focus on addressing the learning gaps is important, it should go hand-in-hand with ensuring that the kids remain safe and healthy.
The children have only returned to school, but the “perennial problems” before the pandemic hit the country are still unresolved, such as the lack of classrooms, furniture, teachers and other resources.
Public school teachers are still overworked and underpaid. Many even have to spend their own money to pay for the learning materials that the state should be providing in the first place.
Reducing work load
One of the remarkable changes Duterte is trying to make on is reduce the work load of teachers by relieving them of administrative responsibilities.
It is still too early to say how well she will lead the DepEd in the coming years without enough background on public education to overcome the learning crisis.
Even her right-hand man in the department, Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III, said in a recent conference that all eyes would be on the agency as she was a political appointee.
The education chief should not be surprised if reports about the DepEd would tend to become political because, after all, the request millions of pesos in confidential funds by an agency not directly related to national security was unprecedented.
Instead of being too sensitive and defensive about the publics response to the DepEd’s actions and policies, her administration, from its central officials down to the regional directors and school heads, should be open to criticisms.
Not the enemies
The media and civil society groups are not inherently antagonistic to government. They only want public officials to be accountable. They are not the enemies and in fact contribute to a healthy and functioning democracy.
In the end, we are all just doing jobs for a common goal: the improvement of the education system that would ultimately benefit the children, the hope and the future of the country.
Just like what the DepEd always says: Para sa bata, para sa bayan (For the children, for the nation). INQ
