Coping with higher college dropouts

The benefits that accrue with digital learning has become more tenuous for many Filipino students in colleges and universities during the pandemic, pulling them several steps backwards in realizing their dream of escaping poverty through education.

Even before the government imposed enhanced community quarantines, when COVID-19 infections increased last year, access to digital tools for learning – internet connectivity, computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones – for a large number of college students were already expenses that parents could barely afford.

As millions of families experienced job loss or diminished incomes during the pandemic, the higher cost of mandatory digital learning foisted on higher education institutions (HEIs) became a burden that made enrollment unaffordable, resulting in many deciding to defer schooling.

The undeniable truth is that education is becoming more expensive, not just because of the new normal learning requirements in a pandemic, but also because of the demands of the fourth industrial revolution on students preparing to compete in an increasingly competitive job market.

Emerging crisis

Just as with the primary and secondary education levels, dropouts in higher education are now a big problem. As an emerging crisis because of the sheer numbers of students who have stopped schooling, it has the potential to cripple our job market in the coming years and aggravate poverty levels.

As the economy prepares to rev back to normal growth, jobs will be opened anew, but only to those who qualify. There may be throngs of people interested in getting employed, but because of a lack of credentials, suiting up will be difficult.

In 2016 and 2017, the government passed the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UNIFAST) and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (Free Tuition) Act, respectively. It’s implementing rules and regulations, however, largely cater to those who stay in school.

Dropouts or out-of-school youths face increased difficulties to get back to formal learning. Often, they get caught in the temp job markets, enduring meager salaries to help support family needs. For many, it is the start of a downward poverty cycle difficult to escape.

Many dropouts who have managed to reach higher education levels, even if for just one semester, represent a bigger loss for the economy considering the amount of tuition and other related learning costs already expended.

On the flipside, though, they represent an opportunity if saved early enough and are able to return to the formal learning cycle. For this reason, current laws must be tweaked to address the situation of dropouts, especially those who have already spent time in college.

Supporting HEIs’ digital learning

The higher cost of formal education resulting from the application of more digital tools must also be addressed. Many state colleges and universities are woefully equipped, which leaves students with little choice but to pay for their own digital devices.

The enactment of the Free Tuition Act has somehow squeezed government funding for HEIs, leaving them with little room to support modernization of classrooms and laboratories in keeping with the demands of the fourth industry revolution.

Free tuition is well and fine, but if the quality of education is not appropriate to the needs of the times, this raises the question of whether we truly are maximizing how government funds are spent. In the end, are our graduates really contributing to improved national productivity?

Better technical vocational training paths

Not all dropouts will be able to go back to formal higher education learning because of economic reasons. Because of this, technical vocation learning must become more responsive to allow out-of-school youth to see a path to better-paying jobs – and hopefully, a chance to go for higher education during better times.

Those participating in technical and vocational training courses must be made aware of other opportunities to access increased skills, consequently leading to better jobs with higher pay, should they firmly decide to abandon careers made available in colleges and universities.

Most tech-vocational schools today are too focused on short-term goals, i.e., getting students to enroll in basic modules and reimbursing their tuition fees from the government, rather than investing in higher skills training resources.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) must wield a firmer control on the kinds and numbers of basic learning modules that can be funded through affiliated training centers and putting premium on higher training.

Likewise, attention is needed to encourage women to aspire for other tech-vocational careers other than being a masseuse at spas where advancement can be very limited.

How medical students fared

One interesting research paper recently published is on how medical students in the Philippines dealt with the forced shift to online learning during the height of infections. It also looked at challenges that future physicians face after the pandemic.

Collating the survey responses of 3,670 medical students from 54 schools all over the country, the paper was able to get a closer look at the readiness of our future doctors in adapting to digital learning.

Here are some surprising takeaways: “One out of five students did not have a computer and an identical proportion had to rely on prepaid mobile data for connectivity. Roughly one out of 20 used only a smartphone. Power interruptions, weak infrastructure, and internet costs restricted the students’ access to online content.”

More on the study, led by Dr. Ronnie E. Baticulon of the Department of Anatomy at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01231-z.

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