The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the education system of the Philippines. With the virus spreading rapidly, all schools throughout the country were temporarily closed to keep the students safe.
For the school year 2020-2021, the Department of Education has proposed using online platforms to continue the schooling of Filipino students. However, not all students can afford to buy the necessary equipment for online classes. Besides that, some students live in places where signal strength is way too weak, making it almost impossible to access the Internet.
Jennelyn Mae Casipit is a Grade-12 Humanities and Social Sciences student. She is one of those who live in an area where the Internet is difficult to access. According to her, one needed to go to an elevated or higher site to get a good internet connection.
Recently on Facebook, Jennelyn posted a photo of her 72-year-old grandfather, Florentino Bernadas. The photo shows her grandfather, who made her a treehouse for her online classes. Jennelyn also said that despite his grandfather’s aching knees, he still endured the pain to finish building it. She is grateful to him for his painstaking effort and sacrifice.
Jennelyn used to study in Bacolod, but she went back to her hometown in Guimaras due to the pandemic. In an interview she had with Aksyon Radyo Bacolod, she said that although her school is offering modular classes, she still prefers online classes to better understand her lessons.
Jennelyn said that her dream is to become a policewoman to help her family. She also encouraged other students to focus on learning and give importance to their studies. Many netizens were amazed by Jennelyn’s story about her grandfather. They are also hoping that many guardians and parents would be inspired by this story and become more supportive of their children’s education.