Educ group poll: Over 66% of public school students learned less under remote learning

The majority of public school students—from 66% to as much as 86%—learned less under the remote learning set up which was implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll conducted by the Movement for Safe, Equitable, Quality and Relevant Education (SEQuRE Educ Movement) showed.

The poll, done on 1,299 public students across the country and presented by Professor Lizamarie Olegario of the University of the Philippines' College of Education, revealed that the highest percentage of those who learned less under remote learning at 86.7% was recorded among the ranks of those under the modular learning or those who study based on printed modules.

On the other hand, 74% of those under blended learning (partly online, partly modular) said they learned less compared with pre-pandemic times.

Those under full online learning were also no better, with 66% saying they learned less.

“This is a poll on 1,299, but we cannot discount the fact that the reality of one can be the reality for all because they are encountering the same problems,” Olegario said.

The poll cited that majority of student respondents experienced occasional or regular problems with computer access, computer skills, internet cost, internet signal, understanding the lessons and complying with class requirements.

The poll specifically noted that only one in five students has access to computer, while less than half of the learners have internet connection at home. In addition, very few students had access to a dictionary, other books, newspapers and printer for the electronic modules sent to them.

On top of these, the poll also stated that 16% of students had no one to guide them in their studies.

Given the challenges, the same poll said 40% of students do not want the next school year to conducted under a distance/remote learning setup, while 39% are unsure. Only 21% of them are agreeable to continuing remote learning.

A separate poll done by SEQuRE Educ Movement on 1,278 public school teachers showed the same problems encountered by students on internet access and cost on top of heavier workload.

The vast majority or 85.2% of the teachers said they now have heavier workload, compared with 12.7% who said their workload stayed the same under remote learning, a situation that is occurring while 51% of the teachers say they are not receiving their benefits on time.

In addition, 52% of teachers said four to six in every 10 students lagged behind in terms of class attendance and submission of class requirements.

The polls were conducted from June 25 to July 2. — BM, GMA News