Several private schools are struggling financially to operate continuously.
Private schools are cutting down their human resources
As COVID-19 hits a country, the economy, public health, peace and order, and education sector suffer the most. As establishments, schools, and other private institutions are forced to halt operation, some succumb to bankruptcy, and some resort to retrenchment.
Schools are no exception to this financial downfall. As parents suffer from “no work, no pay policies,” there is a strong chance that students from private schools might not be able to enroll. Once the number of s student enrollees drop, private school administrators will be forced to cut down on resources, which means staff and teachers will be laid off.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Secretary for Private Schools, called upon the government to help private schools sustain operation during this pandemic, to save the jobs of staff and teachers under their school’s payroll.
This pandemic made a huge negative impact on the operations of all our schools, some are even on the brink of closure. Closure will result to jobs being lost, something that we hope the government won’t allow to completely happen.
ACT asks for salary subsidy from the government for its teachers in small private schools, to help schools start operating even with a minimum expected number of enrollees this school year.
Sustaining Online Learning
Coordinating Council of Private Education Association (COCOPEA) Director Joseph Noel Estrada believes that distance learning should also be accompanied by learning modules that promote personal interaction for the students.
Delivering lessons through television and radio stations must be paired up with workbooks and activity sheets to promote sociability on students. Even without an actual face-to-face set-up, it won’t be a plain listen and learn for students.
The Department of Education’s (DepEd’s) online platform contains workbooks that teachers can print out and have it picked up by parents on a set schedule to still promote social distancing. This way, even students with no free access to online learning can still keep pace with the other students.
