Written by: Mehek C.
Visual credits: BenarNews
While the Philippines attempted to return to face-to-face learning at the end of 2021, schools were quickly shut again as the Omicron variant arrived in the Philippines and cases rose exponentially once again. Many Filipino students are yet again stuck with online distance learnings, despite the fact that kids in several countries with significantly larger case counts attend in-person school. Many parents are urging for in-person schools to open again, saying that online school is making it harder for many students to learn and will possibly even affect their lives in the long run.
One of the biggest issues with online education, especially in developing countries, is that many students lack the proper resources to even attend class. As a less economically developed country, the Philippines' economy has suffered immensely during the pandemic and hundreds of businesses have been shut down. This has led to over 7.3 million people, many including the families of these students, losing their jobs, leaving them financially struggling. Lack of a stable source of income could make it harder for a lot of these students to have access to necessary materials for online learning such as a steady internet connection and a functioninng device. As a result, many of these students are unable to attend school and obtain a proper education through remote learning, causing them to fall behind in their studies and restricting their future career prospects.
Another issue with online learning is that it has been found to be less effective than in-person school. With face-to-face learning, it is a lot easier for teachers to monitor students and ensure that they are on top of their work. However, when learning online, students must come up with their own sense of motivation and time management in order to succeed. This is a major problem for many students, as the pandemic has turned their life upside down and negatively impacted their mental health. According to The American Psychological Association, 81% of Gen Z teens (ages 13–17) are experiencing more severe stress during the COVID-19 pandemic than before. As a result of this decline in their mental health, students' motivation to do well in school has decreased, reducing their self-management skills and academic progress. This has been observed in a study conducted by the Senior Vice President of the American Institute of Research, Jessica Heppen, and colleagues where they randomly assigned people who had failed the Algebra 1 Course a recovery credit either online or in person, and found that passing and success rates were lower in the online setting.
When looking at the bigger picture, while online school is a good temporary solution during problems like the pandemic, in the long run, it is not a sustainable, viable way to effectively teach students. For many students, especially in countries like the Philippines, their inability to have access to online education makes it hard to keep up academically in school. Furthermore, for students who attend online classes, it’s difficult for them to retain as much information and motivate themselves to work properly. All of this could possibly even negatively affect a student’s future, making it harder for them to graduate or receive a good, well-paying job in the future.
Works Cited
By: Daniel Teo | June 8. “Over 7.3 Million Jobs Lost in the Philippines Due to COVID-19.” HRM Asia, 7 June 2020, hrmasia.com/over-7-3-million-jobs-lost-in-the-philippines-due-to-covid-19/.
Rao, Maya E., and Dhananjai M. Rao. “The Mental Health of High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.719539/full.
“The Struggle to Pass Algebra: Online vs. Face-to-Face Credit Recovery for At-Risk Urban Students.” Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19345747.2016.1168500?journalCode=uree20.