Students’ participation in online classes dwindling, teachers say; DepEd validating

The participation of students in online and modular classes has been dwindling, the Teacher's Dignity Coalition (TDC) said on Tuesday.

TDC national chairperson Benjo Basas made the statement based on reports of their members from different areas of the country.

“The way we see things, talagang dwindling po. Continuous ‘yung decrease ng participation ng ating mga learners doon sa online learning,” Basas said in an interview on ANC.

“Nakikita po natin 'yan na mukhang hindi siya nangangalahati, ‘yung participation dito sa online," he said.

"Doon naman sa modular ay nakikita po natin na nagpapasa ang bata na kulang ang sagot or minsan totally walang sagot,” he added.

However, Basas said students and parents have not formally expressed any intention to drop out this academic year.

'Should not alarm us'

Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said they are still validating this information.

“The issue of the online learning not being sustained should not alarm all of us, because we always provide options for other distance learning delivery modality,” San Antonio said in a separate interview.

“For me, it should not be a big concern because we are able to immediately revert to another distance delivery modality,” he said.

Asked about the supposed fatigue of students amid the setup of distance learning, San Antonio pointed out the learning experience of students will depend on the effectiveness of parents and teachers in motivating them.

“I've been saying this even prior to the opening of the school year, that the kind of learning the children would have will depend largely on how effective we, the teachers and the parents, will be able to engage, motivate the children,” he said.

“If the motivation is there, I feel that the so-called fatigue would not be a reality in the lives of the learners,” the DepEd official added.

Basas, however, pointed out that the issue of ‘fatigue’ among students is not only a matter of motivation. He underscored that this issue in education is ‘multifactoral.’

According to San Antonio, the DepEd will have a report on the assessment of the first academic term by January in 2021.

School year 2020-2021 officially opened on October 5.

Due to the COVID-19 threat, the DepEd decided to conduct classes through blended learning, where students do not have to go to school to participate in classes to avoid possible transmission of the virus. —KG, GMA News