THE crippling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major blow to government efforts to improve the quality of education in the Philippines, particularly in public schools.

In fact, students find it difficult to study because of quarantine restrictions, notably the ban on face-to-face classes in public and private educational institutions across the nation.

Everybody agrees that we need quality education to help this Southeast Asian nation and the younger generation of Filipinos in the highly-competitive world of business.

Filipinos, including our migrant workers whose billions of dollar remittances continue to help prop up the struggling economy, ought to remain globally competitive.

If we produce half-baked college graduates, then we run the risk of losing our position as one of the world’s principal exporters of health workers, like nurses, and seafarers.

Without face-to-face classes, “hindi masyadong matututo ang mga estudyante dahil ang mga magulang, maliban sa iilan lang, ay hindi naman mga guro,” lamented a retired mentor.

Unlike many parents, teachers are trained to teach our youngsters. What’s saddening and lamentable is the fact that there are parents who are not even elementary school graduates.

The Filipino people are made to believe that concerned education authorities have already perfected the art of educating our youngsters during a pandemic and other emergencies.

This is done through the use of modules and the many wonders of modern technology, such as the internet, e-mail, television and radio.

The new school year (2021-2022) opens Monday, September 13, not only in the metropolis but throughout the country.

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