{"id":202368,"date":"2021-03-15T11:21:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T08:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/philippines-faces-learning-crisis-after-yearlong-school-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2021-03-15T11:21:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T08:21:37","slug":"philippines-faces-learning-crisis-after-yearlong-school-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/philippines-faces-learning-crisis-after-yearlong-school-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"#Philippines faces ‘learning crisis’ after yearlong school shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Philippines faces ‘learning crisis’ after yearlong school shutdown<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n A year after the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into a months-long lockdown, classrooms across the country remain empty and children are still stuck at home
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Andrix Serrano studies alone inside a Manila slum shack he shares with his street-sweeper grandmother. Like many in his fourth-grade class, he has no internet for his shuttered school’s online lessons.<\/p>\n


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A year after the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into a months-long lockdown, classrooms across the country remain empty and children are still stuck at home.<\/p>\n

Fearing youngsters could catch the virus and infect elderly relatives, President Rodrigo Duterte refuses to lift the restrictions until vaccinations are widespread\u2014something that could take years.<\/p>\n

A “blended learning” programme involving online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media<\/a> was launched in October, four months after the school year was supposed to start.<\/p>\n

It has been plagued with problems: most students in the Philippines don’t have a computer or internet at home.<\/p>\n

“I can’t do it, it’s difficult for me,” said Serrano, sitting in his shack next to a polluted river, a photo of him wearing a class graduation gown hanging on the wall behind him. <\/p>\n

“It’s fun in school. It’s easier to learn there.”<\/p>\n

The nine-year-old’s science<\/a> teacher, Kristhean Navales, runs a class over Facebook Messenger but less than half of his 43 students have access to a device. <\/p>\n

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\"Kristhean
\n Kristhean Navales runs his science class over Facebook Messenger but less than half of his 43 students have access to a device
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Using heart and thumb emojis, those that can join signal if they have understood or have questions about the lesson Navales has pasted into the group chat.<\/p>\n

They don’t always have internet and what data they have isn’t enough for video calls.<\/p>\n

“Subjects that require hands-on activity like science, mathematics\u2014how can we do that in the messenger?” Navales asked.<\/p>\n

The rest of his students rely on printed materials that have been simplified by the school to ease the burden on children. <\/p>\n

After class, Navales visits Serrano and other students who are struggling to keep up\u2014and delivers bags of vegetables to their families.<\/p>\n

He worries that his students are not learning much and he’s frustrated by the government’s failure to prepare schools for a return to in-person classes.<\/p>\n

“Their right to education should not be hampered by this pandemic,” he told AFP. <\/p>\n

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\n A “blended learning” programme involving online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media was launched last October, four months after the school year was supposed to start
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Stay-at-home order<\/b><\/p>\n

Fifteen-year-olds in the Philippines were already at or near the bottom in reading, mathematics and science, according to OECD data.<\/p>\n

But since the school shutdown enrolments have dropped by more than a million, the UN’s children agency estimates.<\/p>\n

Experts worry many students are falling even further behind and those that have dropped out might not come back to the classroom.<\/p>\n

“Covid is affecting all school systems in the world, but here it is even worse,” said Isy Faingold, UNICEF’s education chief in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Classroom closures also leave children at greater risk of sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and recruitment by armed groups, he said.<\/p>\n

A stay-at-home order for children under 15 makes it even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

Many parents have flouted the order, allowing their children to play in parks or on the street. But it’s taking a toll on their development.<\/p>\n

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\"Experts
\n Experts worry many students in the Philippines are falling even further behind
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The rule was briefly lifted for some children in January but Duterte quickly reimposed it, telling them to watch television instead.<\/p>\n

Plans for a limited reopening of schools in January were scrapp<\/a>ed after a more infectious coronavirus variant emerged. <\/p>\n

Data show the virus largely spares children, but it remains unclear how much they transmit.<\/p>\n

‘Permanent scarring’<\/b><\/p>\n

Duterte’s own economic managers have warned of “permanent scarring” to children that could hurt their earning potential if home-based learning is prolonged. <\/p>\n

“Not being able to see and relate physically face to face with their classmates and friends has had a tremendous impact on the emotional development of children,” said clinical child psychologist Maria Lourdes Carandang.<\/p>\n

She has seen “alarming” levels of depression and anxiety. <\/p>\n

Parents and grandparents are also feeling the strain.<\/p>\n

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\"Classroom
\n Classroom closures also leave children at greater risk of sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and recruitment by armed groups, according to UNICEF
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Every week Aida Castillo, 65, picks up printed lessons from school for her five grandchildren and supervises their study while their parents work. <\/p>\n

Only the eldest has access to a smartphone for online classes when their mother comes home.<\/p>\n

“It’s like you’re the one teaching them and what if you don’t know about (the subject)?” said Castillo, who left school after sixth grade.<\/p>\n

She wants face-to-face classes to resume, but only “if the pandemic is over”\u2014something that seems even more distant as infections soar again. <\/p>\n

‘The rich have everything’<\/b><\/p>\n

School closures have affected all students, but the country’s devastating rich-poor divide has made the impact unequal.<\/p>\n

Parents with money can hire tutors for their children\u2014or even a live-in teacher. <\/p>\n

Recruitment company Ikon Solutions Asia has placed dozens of qualified teachers to live in a “bubble” with wealthy families during the pandemic, said managing director Paolo Martel.<\/p>\n