Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines remains one of 23 countries who have yet to fully reopen schools. Education, supposedly the greatest equalizer, has posed to further divide and alienate the most marginalized children in our society, placing them at greater risk of exploitation and a lifetime of poverty.

Thus, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) fully welcomes the Department of Education’s (DepEd) recent urging on schools to implement at full capacity in-person learning. According to DepEd, 73 percent of public schools have already returned to face-to-face classes. Private institutions, however, remain to be a challenge – only 676 of the 16,000 schools have reverted to face-to-face learning conduct.

CHR gives its staunch support to DepEd on this position. The right to education is intrinsic to the exercise of other human rights. Ensuring every Filipino child’s right to education grants them an opportunity to better their lives. It also bridges economic and social gaps – such as productivity, gender inequality, healthcare accessibility, and other issues – that hamper our nation-building.

The Commission hopes for the steady and progressive expansion of face-to-face learning, while maintaining strict adherence to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. We also recognize DepEd’s exploration of the effectiveness of blended learning setup to address parents’ hesitancy of having their children participate in in-person classes.

CHR implores our incoming leaders to make accessible and quality education a priority investment for the next administration.

May the glaring inequalities among literacy and proficiency among our youth that the pandemic has underlined be urgently acted on, with the education sector at the very helm.###