Pasig City Mayor has said public school students will not be neglected during this lockdown period. He indicated that help to access online education will be provided by his government.
The spread of coronavirus in Philipines resulted in a lockdown declaration in the Philippines by President Rodrigo Duterte. Schools were shut down, the business closed and people were told to stay home in order to spread the spread of coronavirus.
More than two months later, the impact has exposed a division in the country between private schools and public schools, the rich and the poor, and highlighted the massive inequality in the country. In particular, the idea of migration of learning from face to face learning to virtual learning has exposed the inability of many students to acquire resources for online learning.
The issue has been more rampant in public schools, leading to calls from student groups to suspend online learning because it was only covering a small section of students while the majority were being left behind.
Mayor offers help to public school students
The Mayor of Pasig City, Mayor Vico Sotto, realizing this problem, has declared that in his city, public school students will not be left behind in online learning migration. He also declared his stand does not depend on whether the lockdown continues or schools are reopened, he will mobilize funds to help public school students in his city access online learning materials.
Virtual learning for students requires them to have gadgets such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones where they can download learning materials. However, a lot of households and students are not able to get their hands on these devices. This has led to a division in the efficiency of online classes, with only a few being able to afford, and continue learning during the lockdowns.
The mayor indicated that he will be providing these devices to students who are not able to get them. In a statement, he indicated that whatever happens, he will not let public schools students be left behind. He also called on the city to join him in his efforts of promoting equality in accessing educational tools during the lockdown period.
The Philippines has started relaxing lockdown restrictions, and although school reopenings have been ruled out for now by the president, it is becoming clear that the lockdown will lead to many students in the country getting left behind. The lack of access to resources such as the internet has been very detrimental to the education sector during the lockdown period.
Featured image by Pixabay
