Today’s learners face considerable challenges;
their learning journey was set back several years by the global pandemic that
halted face-to-face classes from March 2020 (the first implementation of
community quarantines) to November 2022 (when the Department of Education, or
DepEd, ordered a full return to school-based learning). According to UNICEF,
Filipino learners missed more learning opportunities compared to their global
counterparts, as the Philippines was among the last countries to reopen in-person
classes—effectively putting Filipino learners at a significant disadvantage.
This situation is concerning, with Filipino
learners collectively ranking 77th among 81 countries in the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 rankings released in December
2023—an indication that many have been left behind. However, this disheartening
situation of the Filipino learner also presents an opportunity for education
stakeholders—parents, teachers, school leaders, and academic publishers—the
whole learning community, to unite and give the country’s millions of learners
(18,370,310 in the public school system alone, according to DepEd’s data for
school year 2024–2025) the support they need to overcome this disadvantage and
so they can thrive and succeed.
Rex Education, the country’s leading academic
publisher for over seven decades and a vital stakeholder in the education
sector, takes the challenge. REX has championed the Filipino learner since its
founding in the 1950s, initially selling—and then publishing—textbooks and
other scholastic materials that have long been staples in every classroom
nationwide. These are all available at Rex E-Store
(https://estore.rex.com.ph/), the company’s one-stop online store for quality
learning solutions.
As the digital age emerged, ushering in distance
learning, Rex Education responded accordingly by launching Schoology in 2015,
one of the Philippines’ very first learning management systems (LMS). Rex
Education’s Schoology represents the classroom of the future—fully digital and
rich with innovative features that make learning easy, accessible, fun, and
challenging.
“Technology cannot be an add-on; it’s a necessity,”
Rex Education stated in a media release announcing the launch of Schoology.
“Flexible learning is not a privilege or an advantage; it’s a necessity.
Certainly, future-proofing our classrooms, although it cannot be perfected, is
an imperative.”
That press release proved prescient 5 years later,
as digital classrooms like Rex Education’s Schoology became integral to
advancing education during a time when traditional classes were closed
indefinitely. Moreover, Rex Education expanded Schoology, making it accessible
to more learners nationwide, adding additional resources to the platform, and
introducing new features and capabilities.
Now, with the pandemic in the rearview, Schoology
remains an educational powerhouse, advocating for the Filipino learner in this
age of hybrid education by enhancing traditional learning environments and
providing 21st-century learning experiences. With traditional modalities
infused with digital tools, today’s learners can embark on the challenging
journey of making up for lost years while also preparing for a
technology-focused future.
However, Filipino learners still have significant
ground to cover, particularly in math and science, where they ranked near the
bottom in the same PISA 2022 rankings. Rex Education, through First Eduspec
Inc. (FEI), helps address this gap by offering a comprehensive ICT and robotics
curriculum that can enrich the learning opportunities and experiences of
today’s learners and prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow.
While today’s Filipino learners may be
disadvantaged, they can achieve more and reach their full potential with the
right support. This is a challenge to all the sector’s stakeholders—an urgent
call to action—and Rex Education continues to rise to the occasion, para
sa bata, para sa mamamayan, para sa bayan.
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