Abstract

The Covid-19 Pandemic is one of the greatest threats to the education of children especially to poor countries and communities. As countries imposed a lockdown and community quarantine, schools were forced to close and shift instantly to on-line teaching and learning. In the Philippines, while schools are given the permit to continue the education of students for the next school year, the government insists that there will be no face-toface education as long as there is still an imminent danger of virus transmission. As educators, we already experienced and witnessed how difficult for our students, especially the poor and the indigenous peoples, to cope with the different modalities of learning and the country to provide the needed support to students and teachers during this new educational set-up caused by Covid-19 outbreak. This present paper focuses on the perception and experiences of indigenous students in Southern Mindanao, Philippines in relation to Covid-19 pandemic and their fears and worries concerning their lives and their education in the so-called new normal. This paper will further offer practical suggestions to government and educational leaders on how to address the educational needs of the students, especially the indigenous peoples.