In the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic 26. The COVID-19 pandemic has also provided additional challenges for the youth. Preliminary evidence shows that “young people’s jobs, education and [labor] market transitions in Asia and the Pacific are expected to be severely disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis.”62 In 2019 or before the pandemic, DepEd registered a total of 27.7 million students.63 In 2020, this number was down to 26,227,022, but there was a notably slight increase in November 2021, with 27,232,095 total enrollees.64 The abrupt transition from face-to-face classes to distance or modular learning made it difficult for many learners to cope with their studies. At the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, the DepEd also adjusted the 2020-2021 school calendar to push back the formal opening of classes from June to August 2020, which extended the end of the school year to April 2021,65 as well as to give to learning interventions such as remediation and In-Service Training (INSET) activities.66 27. Moreover, with the Philippines ranking 79th among 85 countries with the least affordable internet and 84th among those with the slowest and least stable internet, the education gap is exacerbated by the digital divide revealed by distance learning via modular and flexible learning.67 The Free Wi-Fi for All Program by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which provides free internet in public places around the country, aims to address the need for internet connectivity, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).68 However, DepEd data for SY 2020-2021 show BARMM has obtained the lowest percentage of public schools with internet access at 50.8% in junior high school and 54.2% in senior high school, while NCR has 95.4% and 73.5%, respectively, for the same school year.69 Further, as observed by Santos (2020), school closures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 have impacted roughly 28 million Filipino students. K-12 students and teachers, as well as college students, scramble for digital devices such as desktops, laptops, and cellphones that can be connected to the internet to keep up with their lessons.70 62 Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization, Tackling the COVID-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific, (2020), available at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/626046/covid-19-youthemployment-crisis-asia-pacific.pdf (last accessed May 26, 2022). 63 CNN Philippines Staff, DepEd hits target number of enrollees, but millions of student[s] seen to be left out, CNN PHILIPPINES, July 29, 2020, available at https://www.cnn.ph/news/2020/7/29/DepEd-enrollees-2020-2021-.html (last accessed May 26, 2022). 64 Department of Education, DepEd posts 4% increase in enrollment for basic education in SY 2021-2022 (Nov. 18, 2021), available at https://www.google.com/search?q=DepEd+posts+4%25+increase+in+enrollment+for+basic+education+in+SY+20212022&oq=DepEd+posts+4%25+increase+in+enrollment+for+basic+education+in+SY+20212022&aqs=chrome..69i57.615j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 (last accessed June 21, 2022). 65 Department of Education, School Calendar and Activities for School Year 2020-2021, DepEd Order No. 007 s. 2020, (May 11, 2020). 66 Department of Education, Amendment to DepEd Order No. 030, S. 2020, DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2021, (Mar. 2, 2021). 67 Digital Quality of Life Index 2020, Findings Report, at 13 & 17, available at https://surfshark.com/dql2020-slides.pdf (last accessed July 9, 2022). 68 DICT VSAT 20 times faster; 5 times cheaper than previous foreign contractors, Department of Information and Communications Technology, June 1, 2021, available at https://dict.gov.ph/dict-vsat-20-times-faster-5-times-cheaperthan-previous-foreign-contractors/ (last accessed July 9, 2022). 69N umber of Functional Computers for SY 2020-2021, Department of Education, available at https://dict.gov.ph/ictstatistics/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DepEd_22615_Number-of-Functional-Computers-for-SY-20202021.pdf (last accessed July 9, 2022). 70 Ana P. Santos, In the Philippines, distance learning reveals the digital divide, HEINRICH-BÖLL-STIFTUNG, Oct. 6, 2020, available at https://eu.boell.org/en/2020/10/06/philippines-distance-learning-reveals-digital-divide (last accessed May 26, 2022). 20