Some students forced to drop out of school amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Several students were forced to stop schooling as the country grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report on “Stand for Truth” on Monday, twins Polo and Paul Francisco were among those who decided to drop out this school year. They are currently working as fire volunteers in their barangay in Pasig City.

Aside from the tuition fee, the twins said they were not in favor of online classes, the reason they decided to forego this academic year.

“Tingin namin wala kaming matututunan kasi online. Papasok ka ng umaga iintindihin mo pa ‘yong panggastos mo sa internet. Matutulog ka na lang, iisipin mo ‘yong pang-internet mo. Magkano at saan ka kukuha noon?” Polo said.

“‘Yong internet, may internet kami. Pero ngayon sobrang gipit, hindi namin nababayaran. Eh kung face-to-face, papasok ka na lang, lalakarin na lang namin, walking distance lang. Kahit walang internet, kayang-kaya pasukan,” Paul added.

However, they said they would enroll again once face-to-face classes returned.

Senator Sonny Angara, who chairs the Committee on Youth, said this is alarming as many students who were not able to enroll last year could end up missing even more time out of school, or worse, drop out completely for one reason or another.

Angara said he is hopeful that the number of enrollees will increase once face-to-face classes return.

Based on data from the Department of Education, as of October 2020, over 24.8 million students enrolled for School Year 2020-2021. This was 2.8 million fewer enrollees compared to  SY 2019-2020.

However, as of February 5, 2021, enrollees this school year already reached over 26.6 million.

Further, the DepEd called on the public to help the agency urge students to continue schooling amid the health crisis. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/DVM, GMA News