09/04/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐๐) โ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ. ๐๐๐, ๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญโ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Amid escalating global tensions driven by U.S. imperialist aggression against Iran, the Filipino people are once again forced to bear the economic consequencesโrising oil prices, soaring costs of basic goods, and deepening socioeconomic instability. In times of crisis, the stateโs responsibility to protect and uphold the peopleโs welfare becomes even more urgent, especially in ensuring accessible and quality education.
Yet instead of addressing these urgent realities, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), through Memorandum from the Office of the Chairperson No. 117, s. 2026, has chosen to advance a deeply flawed and exclusionary policy: the authorization of 100% online learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐งโ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ.
CHEDโs push for full online learning blatantly disregards the material conditions of millions of Filipino students. As emphasized by Chairperson Prospero De Vera III, education should be grounded in service to the people. But there is no service in a system that systematically excludes. There is no accessibility in a framework that assumes universal access to technology where none exists.
The lessons of the pandemic are clear and damning. Only an estimated 30% of the population has reliable access to the devices and stable internet required for effective online learning. This means that the majority of studentsโespecially those from working-class and marginalized backgroundsโare immediately placed at a structural disadvantage. For them, โflexibilityโ is nothing more than forced abandonment.
Empirical evidence further exposes the failure of distance learning. In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), enrollment dropped by as much as 41%. Surveys revealed that 86% of students under modular learning and 66% in online setups reported significantly lower learning outcomes compared to face-to-face classes. These are not isolated figuresโthey are symptoms of a systemic breakdown.
Nationally, the crisis is even more severe. Over 4 million students dropped out of basic education during the pandemic period, with higher education facing increased risks of attrition and prolonged disengagement. What CHED labels as โadaptabilityโ is, in reality, a coercive adjustment to a fundamentally unequal system.
The findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) reinforce this reality. The commission has identified deep structural deficiencies in the Philippine education systemโfrom chronic underfunding and inadequate infrastructure to poor learning outcomes. In this context, the expansion of 100% online learning does not resolve these issues; it intensifies them. It widens the digital divide, entrenches inequality, and undermines the already fragile state of public education.
๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ โ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
Education, especially in a developing country like the Philippines, cannot be divorced from material realities. It cannot rely on privatized access to technology or shift the burden of systemic failure onto students and their families. To do so is to abdicate the stateโs responsibility and commodify a fundamental right.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
The government must prioritize concrete, people-centered solutions: regulating oil prices and mitigating inflationary pressures, freezing tuition increases, expanding public investment in educational infrastructure, and ensuring safe, accessible, and quality face-to-face classes. These are not idealistic demandsโthey are necessary conditions for equitable education.
๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ.โ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐% ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ! ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง!
Education must not be reduced to a matter of convenience or cost-efficiency. It is a right, a public good, and a critical instrument for national development. Any policy that undermines its accessibility and quality is a direct attack on the Filipino people.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ: ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐-๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐โ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ, ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฌ.
