‘Nag-arkila lang ako CP:’ Teacher says students rent phone, work for data to attend online class

A senior high school teacher’s screen shots of conversations with his students have gone viral for showing the struggles of many learners adjusting to online schooling amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Manila-based teacher Rejhon Soriano Modesto has shared a screen shot showing a message from one of his students saying that he rented a mobile phone to be able to attend their online class.

“Karapatan ng bawat bata ang makapag-aral,” Rejhon wrote on the caption.

He explained that his student was not lazy and would even work to earn a living and put himself to school.

Rejhon asked for help from those who had extra smartphones.

“Kung sakaling may smartphone kayo diyan na hindi na ginagamit o kahit yung sira na pero pwede pang ipaayos at magamit sa online class. Please, pm niyo ako,” he said.

“Sobrang sakit. Ito lang po ang tanging magagawa ko po dahil mababa rin naman po ang sahod ng mga kagaya kong guro,” he added.

In another screenshot, Rejhon showed another message where a student asked him what would happen if he’s late for their online class, explaining that he had to work at dawn.

“Sir pano po pag na-late sa onlline class. may trabaho na po kasi ako e madaling araw nga lang po pero di po aabot isang oras late ko wala po kasi pangload sa wifi pang online class kayo po need magtrabaho,” the text message sent to Rejhon read.

To which Rejhon replied: “Gawan natin ng paraan anak. Pagtulungan natin. Laban lang tayo. Mahal ko kayo alam niyo ’yan.”

On the caption of his post, Rejhon expressed his pain. “Walang kapantay na sakit ang nararamdaman ko ngayon,” he said.

“Kung alam niyo lang kung paano namin sinisikap na walang mapag-iwanan sa panibagong neoliberal na opensiba sa edukasyon,” he added.

Rejhon said he’d been crying for days thinking about the struggles his students face just to be able to attend and meet the requirements of online schooling.

“Ilang araw na akong umiiyak hindi lang sa pagod kundi sa pag-akay sa mga estudyante kong naghihikahos. Nakakadurog ng puso,” he said.

Rejhon said no one should romanticize the hardships teachers and students go through to adapt to the remote schooling set up.

“We deserve better. May pananagutan ang gubyerno sa hirap na nararanasan natin ngayon,” he said.

On a “24 Oras” report Wednesday, one of the students said despite the struggle, he was willing to learn to achieve his goals in life.

“Gusto ko lang po mag-aral para maayos ’yong … gusto ko po kasing makatulong sa pamilya ko po, para rin sa aking future po. May pangarap din po kasi ako eh,” the student said.

He added he wanted to be a company manager someday.

Meanwhile, the other grade 12 student said he would do everything he could to finish his studies.

“Magtatrabaho po kahit mahirap po basta makapasok lang, para po may pampa-load po. ’Tsaka nag-iipon po ako para may pambili ng bagong cell phone kasi medyo nagloloko na po ’yong cell phone ko. Kung bibigyan po ng Wi-Fi, OK na po ako doon,” he said.

“Mag-aral po sila kasi maayos po ’yong buhay nila samantalang ako po, medyo mahirap po pero kakayanin po,” he added.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) last week slammed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) claim that 93 percent of public schools nationwide are equipped with devices for online learning.

On a “24 Oras” report, a Grade 2 6-year-old student in Barangay Cabatang in Alicia, Bohol, had to climb up to a small tree house to get internet signal for his online classes. – Jannielyn Ann Bigtas with Ma. Angelica Garcia/RC, GMA News