This article on academic freeze in the Philippines only reflects the opinion of the article contributor.
Is it too late to say that I’m in favor of academic freeze in the Philippines?
There are many reasons why academic freeze in the Philippines should have been considered. Aside from the ongoing battle with coronavirus, it seems that students still can’t cope with online classes. Some even joked that they didn’t learn anything.
Although I personally decided to support this movement, here are some of the experiences from my dear friends.
Slow internet connection remains an issue despite calls for academic freeze in the Philippines.
Not everyone has access to internet connection. Sure, there’s WiFi and data package options but both required money. Financial issues can still be cited as one of the reasons why students ended up not being online.
Honestly, it’s one of the reasons why I didn’t pursue college this year. My family’s income is enough to sustain our daily needs but not for educational expenses. My sister was forced to leave her job, which even made our financial burden worse.
How could one expect us to buy mobile data for online classes?
We have limited gadget resources especially for college students.
When they decided to pursue online classes, they forgot that college students need gadgets. There are tablets and laptops provided to elementary and high school students but not for university students.
Our classes were supposed to be dependent on our instructor’s lecture and student’s output. Having a mobile phone might not be enough to aid us for our classes.
Face to face instructions lead to poor guidance from professors.
Some of my students experienced low motivation in studying because of this. Teachers used to be ready for any instructions or guidance needed by the students.
Unfortunately, virtual learning does not permit this. They’re also busy preparing materials to be shared via Zoom.
Home environment is not conducive to learning.
Home is not suitable for online classes. Not everyone has comfortable workspace or bedroom for classes. In one family or household, there’s a possibility of two to three family members doing the same thing.
Aside from stress in learning, students are occupied with family issues.
Academic freeze saves our mental health.
Students are prone to stress, anxiety, pressure and depression. I, myself, am not exempted from mental health woes. I believe that if I continue doing it, it will be a big problem.
My friends kept on complaining that they couldn’t manage their time because of online classes. They’re just doing it for the sake of attending school.
I just wish all difficulties end so we can go back to the beauty of face-to-face classes.
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