By: SOFRONIO D. ARIZALA JR.
Principal II
Nursery High School

The COVID 19 Pandemic has brought uncertainties to humanity. It caused a major crisis in the economy, labor and education of the different countries around the world. Some businesses closed down, many lose jobs and as the school year reopens, the continuity of education is one of the evolving issues which must be immediately addressed.

Educational institutions have been temporarily closed by the government in order to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. The closure of schools is one of the concerns the government is facing now; including its impact on learning and how it affects the students, parents and teachers. Due to the closure of many schools, children and youth may missed out on social contact which is important to learning and development. And in order to continue social interactions between teachers and students, interventions for education are offered such as interactive online classes and other modalities for remote learning.

Based on the consolidated data in Learner Enrollment and Survey Form (LESF), it was noted that majority of the parents in SDO Masbate City opted modular distance learning modality for this school year 2020-2021. This can be attributed to the fact that most households even in the city are challenged by internet connectivity. This is aside from unavailability of gadgets or equipment that learners may use in online learning. In Nursery High School, printed modular learning delivery was employed by the school. However, with this unprecedented scenario where learning delivery shifted from on-school to off-school, numerous challenges as to who will assist and how learners will be assisted at home while learning are anticipated. This really made learning engagement require maximum involvement of parents/guardians of the learners.

A survey had been conducted in Nursery High School to determine the home support received by its learners and results showed the following: 1. most of the parents are not educationally qualified to assist their children in accomplishing the activity sheets of the Self-Learning Modules (SLM). Out of 384 respondents, around 270 or 70.31% of parents of Nursery High School learners did not finish secondary level of education. Though attendance of parents during distribution and retrieval of modules is noticeable, the learning output as manifested in the modules returned without answering the activity sheets is affected. 2. As to the capacity to provide material support such as, gadgets, internet connectivity and learning materials, is also lacking for the simple reason that most parents (86%) have no stable job. Internet access could have been a good substitute for the lack of parental support in home schooling.

These two factors, parents’ educational qualification and the financial capacity of parents have been highlighted in the research discussion because these has significant impact in the quality of support given to the learners. The role of parents in the Modular Distance Learning is undeniably very challenging. It is beyond moral obligation and responsibility. It requires stock knowledge, attention, time and unlimited patience to ensure that their children learn things expected of them. But with parents who lack the necessary educational experiences to share to their children, families who has limited income to provide relevant learning materials and other learning platforms, and with teachers being discouraged to having face to face engagement with learners, what result do we expect from our learners?

We may not really be expecting the same quality of learning as before, but the initiatives made by DepEd to ensure continuous learning engagement of our learners is highly commendable. Education must continue, a tall order from Sec. Leonor Briones which we put by heart because more than ever, our Masbateño learners need our love, our care and our support in this difficult times.