Milyong estudyante hindi makakapag-aral dahil sa kawalan ng gadget

MILYONG estudyante umano ang hindi makakapag-aral kapag itinuloy ng Department of Education ang Learning Continuity Plan sa gitna ng coronavirus pandemic.

Ayon sa Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines malinaw na ‘insubstantial’ ang gadget procurement plan ng Department of Education.

Bibili umano ang DepEd ng 1.1 milyong laptops at tablets para sa mga mag-aaral at 190,574 laptops para sa mga guro sa pampublikong paaralan.

Malayo umano ito sa 21.4 milyong estudyante at 900,000 guro sa public schools.

“This is like plugging a dam breach with a cork. The DepEd technological capacity building plan will push more students to drop out from school than help them stay. Essentially, this is foregoing the agency’s mandate to provide free and accessible public education,” ani Raymond Basilio, ACT Secretary General.

Sinabi ni Basilio na isang katotohanan sa bansa na maraming pamilya ang walang sariling computer kaya mahihirapang magtagumpay ang online learning.

“The student’s lack of access to computer and internet is the most serious road block to distance learning amid the pandemic. Even teachers themselves do not know how their own children can cope with distance education when they have to use their laptops for teaching. You can only imagine the problem faced by families with two or more children who are studying,” ani Basilio.

Dagdag pa nito, papaano maaasahan na makapagturo ng maayos ang mga guro kung walang ibibigay na sapat na gamit ang DepEd sa kanila.

Sa pagdinig ng senado, sinabi ni Education Sec. Leonor Briones na 87 porsyento o 687,911 sa 788,000 teacher ang mayroong laptop ayon sa kanilang survey.

Duda naman ni Basilio kung totoo ito dahil sa dami umano ng mga guro na nagsasabi na hindi sila natanong sa survey.

“If the government cannot ensure that distance learning will be fully accessible to our poor students, they might as well postpone the planned school opening. Having a sizeable portion of your school children drop out for a year will bring bigger problems to education access and quality the following year.”