I-TEAM REPORT
Sick books still used despite DepEd ban
Wanted: Textbooks crusader
By Erika Sauler
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:36:00 12/03/2008
Filed Under: Books, Education, Schools
Read Part 1: Going, gone: Mr. Go throws in the towel
(Second of three parts)
MANILA, Philippines—Despite an edict proscribing their use, “sick books” remain alive and kicking, in at least two schools.
Three weeks before classes opened this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) directed the withdrawal of the textbooks in science and English used in private elementary schools it had found to have errors.
Antonio Calipjo Go, a self-styled crusader against “sick books” who recently gave up his advocacy after a well-orchestrated media attack, had exposed flaws in the two textbook series by Phoenix Publishing House Corp.
After a review of Go’s claims, DepEd’s Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS) issued the order in May pulling out “Simply Science in the Next Century” and “Harnessing English Arts Today” (HEART) for Grades 1 to 6.
IMCS evaluation results show that the Grade 3 series had the highest incidence of errors—“Simply Science” had 28 major and 293 minor mistakes while “HEART” had 76 major and 32 minor faults.
Lourdes School, St. Theresa’s College
Major errors refer to conceptual and factual boo-boos, misleading or wrong illustrations and insufficient discussion. Minor errors include grammar, unclear instructions or questions, little requisite knowledge or skills, illustrations lacking details and typos.
DepEd Order No. 39 series of 2008 titled “Private School Textbooks with Errors” states that the order should be disseminated and complied with on or before June 10.
However, at least two schools visited in October by the Philippine Daily Inquirer claim they did not receive the DepEd order. The controversial textbooks remain in use at Lourdes School Quezon City and St. Theresa’s College.
No options given
Gloria Hombrebueno, assistant vice principal for academics of Lourdes School, says officials there became aware of the order only “last August or September” after they read it on the DepEd website.
“We cannot just say, ‘Look, there’s an error in this book, let’s pull it out,’” she says.
She says the school has to consider the parents who had bought the textbooks. “We were not even given alternatives,” she says. “If we change our textbook, we would have to change the entire syllabus.”
While the order instructs regional directors and division superintendents to monitor its implementation, Hombrebueno says no one from the DepEd has visited the school.
DepEd Undersecretary Vilma Labrador denies this, citing a DepEd compliance report.
“What I read in the report is that, despite the fact that these schools are saying that they didn’t receive the order, the supervisors in charge of the private schools in different regions really gave the information because that’s their duty, to go to the different private schools,” Labrador says.
“[DepEd’s] duty is to oversee the quality of education. We already told them that these books are fraught with errors,” she says. “But these private schools have their own committee that will select the kind of books that they would use.”
Lourdes School, indeed, has a book selection committee composed of teachers which endorses textbooks to be used, according to Hombrebueno.
But, she adds: “We don’t go tediously page by page na talagang kukutuhan mo (like you’re really looking for lice). For example, we look at the table of contents, is the coverage comprehensive? Did they include this so and so topics? Are there enough exercises? And then we look at the pages—just browsing.”
“We don’t have the luxury of time to scrutinize every page,” Hombrebueno says.
The Inquirer tried to talk to Sr. Josefina Nebres, director of St. Theresa’s, which uses “HEART.” Her secretary says she’s busy.
The Inquirer then faxed a letter asking if and when St. Theresa’s received DepEd Order No. 39 and what measures were taken. The secretary, who asked not to be named, relayed a message from Sister Nebres. She says she knows nothing about the order.
Sister Nebres is listed as project director of “HEART” while the authors of the six books are either administrators or faculty members of St. Theresa’s.
‘We should have been told’
Says a mother of a Grade 3 pupil at St. Theresa’s:
“We should have been informed earlier so that we wouldn’t buy the textbook. Parents are not always there to assist their children and it’s no longer advisable to use this book. It’s a DepEd ruling so the schools should comply. And if the school officials already noticed the errors, they should have taken proper action.
“And it’s not just us, all students from Grades 1 to 6 use these erroneous textbooks.”
The mother declines to be named.
Ignorance excuses no one
Socorro Pilor, IMCS executive director, says DepEd’s publication division circulated the DepEd order to all regional and divisional offices that exercise supervisory and regulatory oversight over private schools.
Victoria Fuentes, Quezon City schools division superintendent, says her office did issue a memo to private schools regarding the DepEd order.
“It’s so easy to say that they didn’t get a copy, but ignorance of the law does not excuse anybody,” she says.
“I would bring this up to the next supervisors’ meeting and we would call the attention of Lourdes and St. Theresa,” Fuentes says.
She adds that the DepEd division office could exercise control over the private schools by opting not to endorse their application for permit to operate.
Pilor also says that a copy of the order was posted on the official DepEd website “for instant dissemination to reach the maximum number of schools nationwide at the soonest possible time.”
“So not only DepEd officials are able to read it or are informed about it but also the general public because it is on the website,” she says.
“Were you expecting that we would give each school a copy?” Labrador says in an interview.
“When you ask these schools and they say they didn’t receive anything, hanggang ganon na lang ba yon (is that it)? It is their responsibility to look at the Web, even the public schools, because every day we pass information through the Web.
“The parents should band together to do something against the schools. We already told them these books are erroneous and yet they still bought these,” Labrador says.
Order should have been e-mailed
Amado Valdez, dean of the University of the East College of Law, says there is no jurisprudence that says posting on a website of a government order constitutes sufficient notice.
But he says that if critical information is posted on a website, it should be e-mailed to everyone as well to be fair.
“You are making an assumption that everybody checks the website,” Valdez says.
There is thus also a need to prove or show that the intended recipients of the information have e-mail addresses and the facilities to check the website, says Valdez.
“If you are really serious about disseminating the critical information, then you have to use all available means. This is dictated by fairness,” he says.
The DepEd order states that the Phoenix textbooks should not be used until they are revised and have passed the evaluation of the DepEd.
Phoenix vice president Modesto Lumban refuses to say what has been done to address the DepEd order. “It’s an old issue. We have nothing more to say. We already have arrangements with the DepEd.”
Correction booklet
Asked to elaborate on this “arrangement,” Lumban repeats, “We have nothing more to say.”
Pilor and Labrador say that Phoenix is revising its books.
“Phoenix submitted a correction booklet. We had it reviewed by the evaluators to find out whether all the recommendations were captured in the correction booklet. So after that review it was back to Phoenix for them to implement whatever was not implemented,” Pilor says.
In the meantime, the sick books remain. With a report from Leila B. Salaverria
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