The global pandemic caused disruptions in many aspects of life, including access to basic quality education and learners’ socio-emotional development which are vital to a child’s current and future welfare. Not only it negatively affected the learners but also the parents in providing the needs of their children in the new modality of learning, especially those from the marginalized group.
From an Economic stance, prolonged closure of classes, according to World Bank, could negatively impact the economic status of a country and, if classes were not resumed, could incur an estimated loss in earnings of 10 trillion US dollars.
With the declining number of COVID-19 cases, the massive rollout of vaccines, and the resumption of face-to-face classes, several challenges are experienced by teachers, learners, parents, and other stakeholders. First, the learners' health, safety, and wellness. Thus, continuous inoculation is ongoing to meet the target population of learners who are prepared in the face-to-face classes and likewise to address their socio-emotional and behavioral recovery.
Second, the modality of teaching is a combination of either online or modular and limited face-to-face classes. The preparation of the teachers with their lessons both online/distance and formal classes were time-consuming and could lead to teacher burnout if no support system in the school and at home. Teachers are also parents, assisting their children with their lessons and at the same time doing household chores and spouse responsibilities.
Third, the two-year closure of the schools has magnified the number of non-reading students due to limited instructional time. While remedial classes have been implemented to bridge this learning gap, with the diverse responsibilities of teachers, remedial classes in the school may not be enough. Hence, the need for home visits regular monitoring, and follow-ups were conducted. Buddy systems where reader learners were paired with non-readers to help them accelerate with reading. Services from parents and teacher volunteers were also solicited, including the establishment of literacy in the community.
Fourth, the physical condition of the buildings, facilities, classrooms, lack of students’ chairs and tables, and comfort rooms. Though the number of learners is expected to increase at the start of classes, some instances such as the availability of classrooms, tables, and chairs for learners are not enough to accommodate all of them, especially since safety protocols and guidelines are still in effect. Comfort rooms in urban schools and likewise at some remote schools are also not enough for both learners and teachers. Although the Department of Education, the Local Government Units, and the stakeholders have been working hand and hand to provide for the needs of the school, some improvements are still needed to be addressed.
Finally, since the integration of technology has become an integral part of the education system, not only for teaching but also in submitting/transmitting documents to and from the division office, teachers must be fully capacitated to the advancement of technology for them to be able to teach well and have smooth transactions with the requirements and needs of the schools' division. Hence, continuous training and technical support should be provided to teachers and school administrators for them to continuously improve in their given duties and responsibilities.
As we recover from the dreaded disease and transition back to normal, one lesson to keep in mind is to be prepared always and be abreast of the everchanging society, continuously improving oneself and maintaining to be resilient in delivering basic quality education to our learners.
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