Learning Delivery Modalities in Philippine Basic Education During the COVID-19 Period
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Abstract
Background and Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic compelled education systems worldwide to adopt alternative learning delivery modalities to ensure educational continuity amid school closures, mobility restrictions, and unequal access to digital technologies. In the Philippines, while previous studies have documented localized experiences of remote learning, comprehensive national-level analyses using administrative education data remain limited. This study aimed to describe the distribution of learning delivery modalities in Philippine basic education during the COVID-19 period and examine variations by sex, school level, school sector, and school year.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive quantitative study utilized publicly available administrative data from the Department of Education (DepEd) Data Bits for School Year (SY) 2021–2022, with SY 2020–2021 data included for year-to-year comparison. Learner enrollment by learning delivery modality served as the primary outcome measure, while information and communication technology (ICT) indicators were incorporated to contextualize disparities in digital access. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize learner distribution across modalities, demographic characteristics, school levels, sectors, and school years.
Results: Printed Modular Distance Learning (PMDL) remained the predominant learning modality in SY 2021–2022, serving 20,688,555 learners (75.1% of total enrollment). Blended learning accounted for 3,989,922 learners, while Online Distance Learning enrolled 2,105,824 learners. Differences by sex were minimal, whereas marked variations were observed across school levels and sectors. PMDL was most prevalent in elementary education and public schools, while online and blended modalities were more common among senior high school students and private schools. Compared with SY 2020–2021, blended learning increased by 1,111,692 learners and online distance learning by 159,786 learners.
Conclusion: Philippine basic education relied primarily on printed modular instruction to sustain learning during the pandemic, reflecting efforts to minimize dependence on internet connectivity. However, the uneven distribution of digital and blended modalities highlights persistent inequalities in educational access. These findings provide a national baseline for understanding learning modality utilization and underscore the importance of developing resilient, multi-modal education systems that integrate printed, offline digital, online, and blended approaches for future emergencies.
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