distance learning

Filipino students resort to barter, online selling to buy learning gadgets

Niña Diño

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Filipino students resort to barter, online selling to buy learning gadgets
Students are parting with their beloved stuff - from shoes to book collection - just to have gadgets for online learning

While basic education classes for school year 2020-2021 are set to open in October yet, many students continue to race against time to prepare for their online classes.

Distance learning during the pandemic has caused a lot of concern among families, especially those who could not afford the tools needed for it.

As many struggle without income after the months-long lockdown, students have resorted to different measures to meet the demands of schooling.

Some students have turned to groups on Facebook where members can trade their goods for another merchandise of equal value – anything from food and clothing to household appliances, electronics, and even bicycles. 

My shoes for a laptop

One of them is 15-year-old Angel Pinto, a Grade 11 student from Mary Chiles College in Sampaloc, Manila.

SHOES FOR LAPTOP. 15-year-old Angel Pinto tries to trade her shoes for a laptop she and her 4 younger siblings could use for their online classes.
Photo from Angel Pinto

Pinto and her 4 younger siblings have been making do with sharing a single cellphone for their classes. According to her, having a laptop would greatly ease their problem as some of their online classes happen simultaneously.

“We already ran out of rice…On top of that, online class is also our problem as the 5 of us would have to share one cell phone,” she said.

Pinto is the eldest among 5 children. Her younger siblings are still in Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 5, and Grade 7.

Before the pandemic, Pinto’s mother was a street vendor who sold spring rolls and spring roll wrappers along the streets of Sampaloc. The lockdown has stopped her from selling.

After watching the local news’ coverage on online barter trade, Pinto thought of helping her mother by giving it a try. She bartered a pair of her shoes in hopes of trading it with a laptop; she’s been unsuccessful.

“I’m sad because I only have two pairs of shoes, but I have to sacrifice one pair in order to study,” the 11th grader said.

Pinto said she has since joined gadget giveaways of local celebrities – all without luck. Like other students, she hopes the online barter trade can still help her even if her classes already started last August 3. She still had no laptop as of Sunday, August 16.

Letting go of book collection

19-year-old Allen Luzon, a 2nd year BS Psychology student at the University of Baguio, took to social media last July 28 to sell his personal book collection. He wanted to raise enough money to buy a tablet which he will use for his online classes.

Luzon told Rappler that his parents have been struggling to pay their household bills and basic necessities for their family of 6.

When the lockdown was enforced in Baguio, Luzon’s father lost his job as a sales agent of educational materials such as textbooks. To cope, his parents started selling bedsheets, rags, and potholders instead.

As his classes are set to resume on August 24, Luzon tried to help his parents by selling some of his favorite books online.

This was not an easy decision to make. Luzon stressed that this was a “last resort,” as he spent years collecting the books using coins that he scraped off from his allowance when he was in high school.

“I was hesitant to let go of my books because I skipped eating lunch at school just so I can afford one. I was left with no choice because of the blended learning set-up for the school year…It’s sad that the parents and students are forced to find ways to pursue education,” Luzon said.

Though he was able to sell 45 of his books to purchase an iPad Pro after 8 days, Luzon reminded others to not glorify the resilience of Filipino students during the pandemic.

“Education is a right, but it is swiftly becoming a privilege not everyone can afford,” he said.

No student left behind?

With students from all over the Philippines taking every measure to ensure that their education will not be hindered, groups have slammed DepEd’s decision to push through with distance learning. Many have even turned to online campaigns such as the #PisoParaSaLaptop for donations to help them adjust to the demands of distance learning.

Although DepEd recently postponed the class opening for school year 2020-2021 from August 24 to October 5, the Commission on Higher Education said that colleges and universities are not covered by this law.

While many are grateful for the postponement of classes, they still believe that delaying the school year to 2021 is the more appropriate response, to ensure that no student is left behind. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!