DepEd urged to report challenges on distance learning after school opening

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Friday urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to come up with a report on the challenges and gaps it will face regarding distancing learning after classes begin on October 5.

During the Senate hearing on DepEd’s proposed 2021 budget, Pangilinan said the status report will allow the Senate to address the agency’s funding needs.

“I’m sure, before the end of October, a three-week timetable in terms of looking at the gaps, seeing the problems, you would be able to come up with a clearer set of interventions to be able to address the challenges of this new learning, distance learning,” Pangilinan said.

“Then we can put in place precisely what funding support you need in terms of the number of modules, how much you’re going to print out, the requirements, and of course the funding,” he added.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones committed to submit an evaluation report upon the opening of School Year (SY) 2020-2021 for all public schools nationwide.

“We should give a status report of what you are suggesting—status report on implementation, challenges, and the good news as well as various aspects that need to be attended to,” Briones said.

Earlier, DepEd said some students will have to share self-learning modules due to a lack of funding for the production of materials.

DepEd said P35 billion would be needed to produce a 1:1 module-to-student ratio, but only P15 billion was allotted under the 2021 national budget on top of the P5 billion from unprogrammed funds.

As of Friday, over 24.6 million students have already enrolled for SY 2020-2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

For this school year, DepEd is implementing modular learning where students are provided with printed materials such as textbooks, activity sheets, and study guides.

DepEd will also utilize other modes of learning such as online, television, and radio broadcasts to supplement the modules.

KGA