STUDENTS strongly protested the declaration of Commission on Higher Education Chairman Prospero De Vera III that the agency will ditch the traditional face-to-face learning system, saying that they learn very little through distance learning.

Students showed their anger on social media, lambasting CHED for being satisfied with “mediocre and half-assed distance learning education.”

“Parang awa mo na CHED. Pagod na kami, wala kaming matutunan sa online class except mag-comply. Please reconsider your plans in continuing the next academic year through flexible learning,” one student said.

“My goodness CHED, please read the room. It doesn’t mean that everyone has ‘adjusted’, eh okay na ‘yun. This setup is so stressful for everyone concerned and do you really want to extend the stress forever,” another student said.

De Vera earlier said that the commission has adopted a policy to implement flexible learning in higher education institutions in the coming school years.

“From now on, flexible learning will be the norm. There is no going back to the traditional, full-packed face-to-face classrooms. If we go back to the traditional face-to-face classroom, we run the risk of exposing our stakeholders to the same risks if another pandemic comes in,” he said.

The CHED chief said that going back to traditional face-to-face classes would waste all the investments in technology, teacher trainings, and retrofitting of school facilities.

“The old paradigm of face-to-face versus online will now disappear. What will happen is a flexible system where universities will mix-and-match flexible learning methods appropriate to their situation,” he said.

“Some of them, the more prepared universities, will continue investing and moving ahead using online platforms. Others will be allowing some of their students to come at specific periods and do more synchronous versus asynchronous learning,” he added.

Since schools shifted to remote education in 2020, students have aired their concerns and complaints about online learning. Even parents admitted having difficulties with online classes.

Students and teachers said that they do not have the necessary equipment for online learning like gadgets and stable internet connection.

Other youth groups, meanwhile, pushed for a safe return to school. They stressed that it is a better alternative since it addresses not only the needs of students but also the concerns of teachers and staff.

De Vera said HEIs can explore creative methods of teaching, stressing that “teachers should realize that the old norms are gone and they must adjust to new standards.”

He added textbooks will no longer be the sole source of knowledge.

However, the National Union of Students of the Philippines argued that flexible learning is unsustainable and prolonging it will compromise many things.

“It will exacerbate the effects on students financially, mentally and emotionally, and jeopardize the quality education that is their right. If we look at it another way, flexible learning has also paved the way for corporations to capitalize on the inaccessibility of needed technology,” NUSP National President Jandeil Roperos said.

Roperos pointed out that face-to-face classes remain to be the “most inclusive and accessible option” for education.

“If CHED wishes to pursue prolonged flexible learning, do they at least give gadget and connection assistance to those in need? Ultimately, we urge Duterte-CHED to proactively and swiftly address the health issue in our country, and along the way, consult stakeholders in the decisions it carries out and be data-driven,” she said.

“It has been a year since lockdown, and frankly, the bursts of calls for academic breaks and academic ease are taking place as a reflection of how exhausting and unsustainable the current set-up in learning is. We need CHED to listen to the students and the other sectors in education and take action from our calls,” Roperos added.