Putting a premium in education is always a priority especially in the Philippines where good education is a stepping-stone to have a career. However, with the recent turn of events, majority of the people working in both public and private organizations have gone digital.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is one of the most impacted organizations in the Philippines as online education is not fit in most of its programs. The education sector is still practicing traditional learning, specifically in public schools, where most of students rely on pen and paper activities. To add, there are also remote areas where Internet is unavailable, which is also an economical issue.

Meanwhile, while DepEd continuously promotes the utilization of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) strategies and materials, this would not suffice because not all educators are not well trained with this initiative and well equipped with the proper gadgets. While the ICT initiative is good investment to one’s capability, a 1:1 ratio of gadget to teacher is not yet achievable in the current set up.

Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which already killed a thousand of people, has also added some challenges to the Filipino educators. With the push from the government to start the classes in August, teachers are obliged to know more on how to adapt to digital education, which seems to be a challenge currently.

With the short timeline, teachers are asked to attend series of webinars and other relevant training but then what’s lacking is the application of what is being taught in the online sessions. Prototypes, as well, on how to write modular lessons and how to facilitate such classes is also foreseen as a risk as this will be the first time that this kind of learning modality will be implemented.

A teacher’s resiliency is always being tested whenever there are challenges concerning internal and external factors but this kind of resiliency should be checked if this will be beneficial in the long run.

COVID-19 is not just a healthcare crisis as it impacts a lot of sectors in the society including education. While unity in these in trying times is beneficial among all stakeholders, it is also important and fundamental for the decision-makers and policy makers to conduct a rigorous cause-and-effect analysis.

Education in COVID-19 should not focus on how we survive the upcoming school year but how to adapt to new normal.

Putting a premium in education is always a priority especially in the Philippines where good education is a stepping-stone to have a career. However, with the recent turn of events, majority of the people working in both public and private organizations have gone digital.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is one of the most impacted organizations in the Philippines as online education is not fit in most of its programs. The education sector is still practicing traditional learning, specifically in public schools, where most of students rely on pen and paper activities. To add, there are also remote areas where Internet is unavailable, which is also an economical issue.

Meanwhile, while DepEd continuously promotes the utilization of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) strategies and materials, this would not suffice because not all educators are not well trained with this initiative and well equipped with the proper gadgets. While the ICT initiative is good investment to one’s capability, a 1:1 ratio of gadget to teacher is not yet achievable in the current set up.

Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which already killed a thousand of people, has also added some challenges to the Filipino educators. With the push from the government to start the classes in August, teachers are obliged to know more on how to adapt to digital education, which seems to be a challenge currently.

With the short timeline, teachers are asked to attend series of webinars and other relevant training but then what’s lacking is the application of what is being taught in the online sessions. Prototypes, as well, on how to write modular lessons and how to facilitate such classes is also foreseen as a risk as this will be the first time that this kind of learning modality will be implemented.

A teacher’s resiliency is always being tested whenever there are challenges concerning internal and external factors but this kind of resiliency should be checked if this will be beneficial in the long run.

COVID-19 is not just a healthcare crisis as it impacts a lot of sectors in the society including education. While unity in these in trying times is beneficial among all stakeholders, it is also important and fundamental for the decision-makers and policy makers to conduct a rigorous cause-and-effect analysis.

Education in COVID-19 should not focus on how we survive the upcoming school year but how to adapt to new normal.