Senate resolution seeks to assess basic education sector

A resolution seeking inquiry into the preparedness of basic education sector for the School Year 2021-2022 has been filed in the Senate, focusing on the capability of schools to deliver quality teaching and learning.

Senate Resolution No. 739, earlier filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, also wants to evaluate the delivery of education whether through face-to-face classes, distance learning, or other alternative delivery modes.

In a bid to assess the education sector's capability amid the pandemic, Gatchalian cited the challenges that hounded distance learning for the SY 2020-2021. These include:

• lack of gadgets,
• electricity,
• internet connection,
• appropriate learning space, and
• issues on the quality of modules.

He also identified other challenges such as lack of physical interaction, too much screen time, and pressures leading to depression.

Gatchalian, who is also chairman of the the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture,  identified some problems including the “sagot-for-sale” scheme, and “online sex sale” that some students were forced to engage in to finance their distance learning.

A Pulse Asia survey that Gatchalian commissioned shows that only 46 percent of Filipinos with schoolchildren say that their child is learning; 30 percent cannot say whether their child is learning or not; and 25 percent say that their child is not learning.

Also, the same poll reveals that the top concerns raised by parents, guardians, and learners nationwide are difficulty in answering modules (53 percent), intermittent internet connection (43 percent), difficulty in focusing or laziness to listen (42 percent), and lack of gadgets for online learning (36 percent).

In a Senate panel hearing held earlier this year, the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) also raised the concern that school closures expose learners to increased risk of violence, abuse, and early pregnancies. —LBG, GMA News