The Department of Education is nearly 90% ready for next month’s opening of classes at the local level, where blended forms of learning methods will be used under the COVID-19 health threat, said Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
“I would say mga 90% [ready] at the local level,” said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate basic education committee.
Interviewed over DZBB, Gatchalian said he has been in coordination with the DepEd and its divisions in various localities to see how ready they are for the resumption of classes set on August 24.
In the case of modular learning, he said the DepEd divisions are the ones tasked to print out the learning modules to be distributed among students.
The learning modules, said, divided into two parts – one for parents of kindergarten to Grade 3 students to provide instructions on how to use the modules, and one for the learners themselves.
“This self-learning module has a very clear instruction on how they will learn and what. to study. Every week, the teachers will collect them to determine if they learn or not. This will be done during the community quarantine,” Gatchalian said.
At present, he said DepEd divisions are printing these modules by quarterly or monthly, depending on their budget and on the situation in their areas.
The senator said this would be better to pursue blended or distance forms of learning in all areas nationwide, even as there are proposals for face-to-face classes in places with zero to low-risk of COVID-19 transmission.
“Because this COVID situation is really uncertain. While we are under community quarantine, I agree to the distance learning as a mode of teaching,” he added.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones Briones said the DepEd has been preparing for the implementation of blended learning methods.
