The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) on Thursday admitted during a virtual House hearing that poor internet connection, especially in the provinces, has made the conduct of fully online classes “not viable.”
According to CHEd chair Prospero De Vera, the commission has received petitions from student organizations to stop the conduct of online classes, owing to poor connectivity issues.
As an alternative to online classes, De Vera proposed that colleges and universities apply “flexible learning,” a combination of online and offline learning activities, with take-home activities that students can work on during their free time. —Melvin Gascon
[NOTE: This Newsbriefs story titled “CHEd nixes ‘online learning’ over slow PH internet” on Page A9 of the May 1 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Its headline misstated the position of the Commission on Higher Education on online learning which, according to Commission chair Prospero de Vera, “encouraged all higher education institutions (HEIs) to employ alternative learning or flexible learning systems, including online learning, to ensure that learning continues during the quarantine period.” These alternative or flexible learning systems, De Vera added, “must take into consideration the capability and resources of the HEIs and the connectivity available to students.” We apologize for the error.]