KABATAAN Partylist Rep.  Sarah Jane Elago urged the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education to review the guidelines and mechanisms for online and modular learning amid the Covid19 pandemic.

In her House Resolution 1817, Elago said there is a need for the government to formulate actions or steps to prevent massive dropout and learning loss.

“The coronavirus has halted the normalcy of face-to-face education and its operation, thus forcing the entire educational system to adopt a new manner and method of instruction apt for learning during a pandemic,” she explained in her resolution.

While the DepEd and CHED adopted the Basic Learning Continuity Plan and flexible learning to ensure continuity of education, Elago said that there have been challenges and difficulties in providing meaningful and quality education due to institutional constraints, logistic deficiencies, infrastructural concerns and inadequacy in training of trainers.

Based on the Global Connectivity Index, the Philippines ranked 59th in ICT investment, ICT maturity and digital economic performance.

“This relative lack of infrastructure contributes to many persisting challenges of delivering effective Distance Learning,” Elago said.

The lawmaker cited a case study that showed 65 percent of teachers had difficulty in communicating with parents while 75 percent of teachers encountered difficulty in contacting their students.

It was also learned that many students do not have enough time to answer modules.

“Studies show that modular distance learning has not been effective for low-income families, have failed to consider different learning capacity levels per person, and do not provide an effective feedback system,” Elago said.