Philippine Christian University

MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

Reflection on the Impact of CoVid-19 Pandemic on

Educational Culture/Practices

Submitted by:

Belarga, Czarina Dawn

Labto, Justine Bernadeth

Matibag, Micah Kiel Sherinne

Moldez, Marielle

Serquina, Johniza Hope

June 2020
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

Education is fueling a nation-building machinery to achieve its aims. Through it,

culture is made enlightenment. Education is also responsible for providing competent
human resources which will be able to perform daily tasks in accordance with the
society's standards. It also breaks the boundaries made by the differences in a diverse
society and encourages the citizens to come together for progress to be done.
Education plays a crucial part in creating productive individuals. By learning all the
requisite skills, it gives us the ability to become a successful member of a civilized
society. We're learning how to tackle difficulties and conquer obstacles. We learn how
to become an integrated personality, and keep our culture perpetuated. Via education
people learn basic social standards, laws, regulations, and values. In addition, high-
quality schooling helps us to lead a better life, improve our intellect, talents,
knowledge, and make meaningful life changes. Education lays the groundwork for our
future. An illiterate person can find some aspects of life very difficult to cope with.
Education expands our vision and awareness builds. It allows us to build a healthy life
and offers more opportunities to gain. This helps us to learn the world outside our
own surroundings. Education is also a prerequisite of the prosperity and
modernization of any country.

The education system of the Philippines has been highly influenced by the
country’s colonial history.  That history has included periods of Spanish, American
and Japanese rule and occupation.  The most important and lasting contributions
came during America’s occupation of the country, which began in 1898.  It was during
that period that English was introduced as the primary language of instruction and a
system of public education was first established—a system modeled after the United
States school system and administered by the newly established Department of
Instruction. Like the United States, the Philippine nation has an extensive and highly
inclusive system of education, including higher education.  In the present day, the
United States continues to influence the Philippines education system, as many of the
country’s teachers and professors have earned advanced degrees from United States
universities.

Although the Philippine system of education has long served as a model for
other Southeast Asian countries, in recent years that system has deteriorated. This is
especially true in the more remote and poverty-stricken regions of the country.  While
Manila, the capital and largest city in the Philippines, boasts a primary school
completion rate of nearly 100 percent, other areas of the country, including Mindanao
and Eastern Visayas, have a primary school completion rate of only 30 percent or
less.  Not surprisingly, students who hail from Philippine urban areas tend to score
much higher in subjects such as mathematics and science than students in the more
rural areas of the country.
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

Education in the Philippines is offered through formal and non-formal systems. 

Formal education typically spans 14 years and is structured in a 6+4+4 system:  6
years of primary school education, 4 years of secondary school education, and 4 years
of higher education, leading to a bachelor’s degree.  This is one of the shortest terms of
formal education in the world. In the Philippines, the academic school year begins in
June and concludes in March, a period that covers a total of 40 weeks.  All higher
education institutions operate on a semester system—fall semester, winter semester
and an optional summer term.  Schooling is compulsory for 6 years, beginning at age
7 and culminating at age 12.  These 6 years represent a child’s primary school
education.

One of the most important to any Filipino's life in the Philippines is the
education of every child within the family. Education is one thing we cannot get from
ourselves. To succeed and have a better future ahead is a very important factor in
every Filipino's life. It's also one of Filipino's priorities to offer their children the best
education. Parents sacrifice their personal needs only to send their children as far as
possible to a better school and if they can afford the tuition fees and all the expenses.
They are working hard just to have a better life for their children. Education is the key
to success, which is why the parent in Filipino motivates their children to complete
college and be educated. Education is a priority for every Filipino in the Philippines.

Again, education is important; it imparts upon everyone who gets it the wisdom
and know-how to get through various situations without the help of others. Education
is a building block to becoming a better person, and therefore becoming an exceptional
member of society. Being educated is one of the most significant in the life of every
people at this present time. Because education plays a big role in the society and it
gives knowledge and information if you are educated enough. Learning is non-stop.
From the day you were born until your last breath you still learning things and
discover things that you don’t know.

The year 2020 is plagued with unprecedented problems that challenged the
current global and national socio-political and economic landscape. In the time of
COVID-19 pandemic, the global education system is in the process of transforming
and adapting to new and challenging situations which test the conventional learning
process of human interaction inside a classroom, and capitalize in virtual and online
education through the help of technology. This paper tries to elucidate how the higher
education system of the Philippines coped with the challenge of providing adequate
and quality education services in the time of COVID-19. Coronavirus disease (COVID-
19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people
infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness
and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with
underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory
disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. The COVID-19 virus
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an
infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory
etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).

Since the first positive case of COVID-19 in the Philippines in January 30, 2020
(DOH, 2020), the Commission on Higher Education or CHED has been active and
proactive in its response to give guidance and leadership in the sustained provision of
higher education to millions of students in the country. CHED gave out 6 advisories
for the universities as a guideline which gave relative freedom and flexibility to schools
in terms of implementing them based on the contextual realities and differences they
face. Varying approaches have been employed in implementing the CHED guidelines.
Safety measures were implemented through temperature checking upon school
entrance and providing alcohol-based hand rub for students, teachers, and staff.
Easy-to-understand and catchy information and education campaign/ IEC materials
were posted in strategic areas of the school as well as disseminated online through the
schools’ official websites or student publication multimedia pages in Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram. In terms of the provision of education to students, alternative
learning activities, case studies, assignments and other activities were done online.
These activities were delivered using multimedia learning and teleconferencing
platforms like Gmail, Google Hangouts, Google Classroom, Zoom, and even Facebook.
Assignments were given but deadlines were set in two-three weeks upon receipt to give
ample time to students to submit. Class topics and discussions were modified to apply
theories and concepts relative to the students’ lived experiences amidst the COVID-19
crisis. On the other hand, for students and teachers who have limited to non-existent
internet connectivity, phone calls and messages were helpful in giving and receiving
school-related instructions. In their case, the deadline of reports, projects and
assignments was set two to three weeks after the resumption of classes.

In the case of the Philippines, Distance Learning or E-learning is not the ideal
or preferred and conditioned choice of teaching and studying. Teachers of all levels
were not technically, psychologically, and we argue, educationally prepared to conduct
online classes. In addition, poor and costly internet connectivity has continually beset
the country even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Infrastructures to
provide fast and reliable internet connection to everyone is scant. In addition,
impoverished students whose families could barely provide for their educational needs
are further burdened by the high cost incurred in accessing internet connectivity. In
the Philippines’ context, acquiring good internet connection is not a need but rather a
privilege of the few who can afford it. Lastly, it cannot be denied that the perception on
security of teachers for their families’ safety has direct and significant impact on their
work performance even in a work-from-home arrangement.
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

Implementation would however pose such problems for students with limited
internet access, no gadgets, and the poor. In addition, such challenges would include
gaps in equity, safety and security for students, compromised learning quality and
poor evaluation results (Winthrop, 2020). Changes on the grading system, assessment
and evaluation of student’s performance will also be a challenge to every
administrator. Along these, laboratory exercises in sciences and other subjects
involving success such as physical education and culture and arts will be restricted to
paper and pen testing, because schools allow students to be physically present for
assessment by performance testing. In addition, extra-curricular activities will be
reduced and discontinued in school such as scouting, proms, sports intramurals,
contests, and foundation day. To adapt to the current educational model (Toquero,
2020), teacher preparation in online instruction, blended learning and distance
learning is also recommended in terms of teaching. Teacher competencies will be
improved in their teaching methods and technology. This transition to the new normal,
from the four corners of the classroom to the boundaries of virtual reality, requires
that each learning institution study how successful online learning is in providing
students with quality education and results-based education (Basilaia & Kvavadze,
2020).

The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is be well informed about
the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and
others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently
and not touching your face.  At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments
for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential
treatments.

On March 18, 2020, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

estimated that 107 countries had implemented national school closures related to
COVID-19, affecting 862 million children and young people, roughly half the global
student population. This situation had rapidly escalated from 29 countries with
national school closures a week before. School closures are based on evidence and
assumptions from influenza outbreaks that they reduce social contacts between
students and therefore interrupt the transmission.

One way that school closures are effective during outbreaks might be through
forcing parents to work at home and thus reducing work-related contacts. However,
reviews have also noted the adverse effects of school closure, including economic
harms to working parents, health-care workers, and other key workers being forced
from work to childcare, and to society due to loss of parental productivity,
transmission from children to vulnerable grandparents, loss of education, harms to
child welfare particularly among the most vulnerable pupils, and nutritional problems
especially to children for whom free school meals are an important source of nutrition.
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis. Many countries
have (rightly) decided to close schools, colleges and universities. The crisis crystalizes
the dilemma policymakers are facing between closing schools (reducing contact and
saving lives) and keeping them open (allowing workers to work and maintaining the
economy). The severe short-term disruption is felt by many families around the world:
home schooling is not only a massive shock to parents’ productivity, but also to
children’s social life and learning. Teaching is moving online, on an untested and
unprecedented scale. Student assessments are also moving online, with a lot of trial
and error and uncertainty for everyone. Many assessments have simply been
cancelled. Importantly, these interruptions will not just be a short-term issue, but can
also have long-term consequences for the affected cohorts and are likely to increase
inequality.  

With this pandemic, our educational nature was highly affected because we,
student nurses have a skill-based program that includes clinical duties which we
cannot do online because we have to take care of our patients in an actual practice
and hospital facility. We were all caught off guard; the schools/universities, professors
and students were not all ready with this online situation especially because most of
us used to have a face-to-face learning with the professor discussing his/her lectures
in front. Based on the opinions of the students gathered online, a huge amount of
them are not in favor to have online classes because they believe that the quality of
learning is not the same to the face-to-face learning we used to have and there are also
different factors that hinder a student to have an easy way to attend class online. This
includes the availability and strength of the internet, the home environment, the focus
of a student to study on his/her own time budgeting, financial problem and etc.
School closures helped a lot in order to stop the transmission of the virus but the
education of students was being affected. While doing our requirements, complying
with our exams and attending some zoom meetings, we also do our part to become
more knowledgeable about the happenings in the country and worldwide by reading
news and articles, watching live news on Facebook and other platforms and especially
by keeping an eye on the growing numbers of COVID-19 positive cases. It is hard to
study when you are also becoming anxious about what you read online and heard on
the news.

The education sector is one of the pandemics significantly impacted by

COVID19. In the Philippines where COVID-19 infections are still on the rise as of now.
However, while recommending several approaches on the new normal, there were
some posed challenges and issues presented. Therefore, schools at all levels must
address these concerns and carefully evaluate plans and procedures for implementing
the new normal. In these tough times collaboration is the most important. We should
be helping to form the post-COVID-19 education, moving towards new normal. The
question here is how to plan and sustain quality education in exceptional times, such
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the degree to which we will be prepared in the future
when another crisis occurs.

Going to school is the best public policy tool available to raise skills. While
school time can be fun and can raise social skills and social awareness, from an
economic point of view the primary point of being in school is that it increases a
child’s ability. Perhaps to the disappointment of some, children have not generally
been sent home to play. The idea is that they continue their education at home, in the
hope of not missing out too much. Poor facilities in public schools signify that
students are not receiving their rights of having a sufficiently available and well-
maintained school facilities. Indications of having these poor facilities are non-working
or poorly maintained public comfort rooms, lack of classrooms, overcrowding in
classrooms, poor ventilation, unsanitary and crowded canteens and more. While the
(DepEd’s) online learning, virtual classes and hybrid classes are admirable for the
continuous learning of the students, the reality is a majority of our population does
not have access to internet. The internet in the country remains the most expensive
yet the slowest among Asian countries. I do not see how virtual classes being proposed
by the DepEd can be effectively implemented across all sectors. The poor will be at a
disadvantage here. The closure of schools, colleges and universities not only interrupts
the teaching for students around the world; the closure also coincides with a key
assessment period and many exams have been postponed or cancelled. School
facilities are a collection of buildings used to provide educational programs for
students. These facilities provide students or pupils with a place to learn that is under
the direction of teachers. Homeschooling or home based learning is the education of
children at home.

Families are central to education and are widely agreed to provide major inputs
into a child’s learning, as described by Bjorklund and Salvanes (2011). The current
global-scale expansion in home schooling might at first thought be seen quite
positively, as likely to be effective. But typically, this role is seen as a complement to
the input from school. Parents supplement a child’s math learning by practicing
counting or highlighting simple math problems in everyday life; or they illuminate
history lessons with trips to important monuments or museums. Being the prime
driver of learning, even in conjunction with online materials, is a different question;
and while many parents round the world do successfully school their children at
home, this seems unlikely to generalize over the whole population. 

One of the sources of strength and motivation of the students are their families.
A lot of us are experiencing mental health problems which include worrying from time
to time, anxiety, and mild depression. The role of the family affects big time in mental
state of the students. Based on our experiences this quarantine period, we are lucky
 Philippine Christian University
MARY JOHNSTON COLLEGE OF NURSING

415 Morga Street, Tondo, Manila 1012, Philippines

enough to have our supportive families behind our backs who constantly support us
while we are studying. It is very new to our families to have us in our home while we
are in college because we normally live in a dormitory. We can say that because of the
love and assistance we have been receiving, it helped us to keep motivated and
inspired even if we are fully loaded with requirements, exams and online discussions
in different video call platforms which cause an undeniable stress. In line with this, we
cannot help but to think of our fellow students who have problems attending online
classes. Not everyone has the privilege to study and this pandemic made it more
difficult to others because we are now studying inside the virtual world which not
everyone has an access to. We are delighted to know that a lot of people are helping
students to have their smart phones, laptops and pocket Wi-Fi in order to participate
in online classes. Amidst this pandemic, government issues and chaos all over the
world, it is truly the support and love from each other that shall always prevail.