Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has written Education Secretary Leonor Briones requesting for a review of the procedure on blended modular learning citing parents’ concerns that the scheme affects the students mentally and psychologically.
The children are adversely affected due to lack of social interaction, she said.
Under the present set-up, the Department of Education provides self-learning modules with alternative learning delivery modalities to ensure that basic education will be accessible amid the present crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The modules are delivered in printed format for schools in areas without access to internet but for those households with gadgets and devices, the modules can be accessed online or offline.
The Mayor said most parents are alarmed that children are affected because of lack of social interaction or lack of opportunity to meet with classmates and teacher. There is also an effect on some of the students because they cannot catch up with the requirements or assignments, she emphasized.
“The effect is depression and unfortunately some of them resort to suicide. These children cannot withstand the impact of the pandemic and they are affected mentally and psychologically,” Climaco-Salazar, a family counselor said stressing that children become sad and depressed, cannot endure the problems and ultimately commit suicide.
Police records show that a student has committed suicide due to his failure to comply the modules recently.
As this developed, the mayor said she has asked the City Health Office to coordinate with the local association of Psychiatrists and come up with mental health interventions for families as the pandemic has taken its toll on the people. (Sheila Covarrubias-PIO)
