By Thimoty Romero May 31, 2020 Via online press briefing, Department of Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones addressed the...
May 31, 2020
Via online press briefing, Department of Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones addressed the concerns on the opening of the school year 2020-2021 through her presentation of online learning modalities last May 28.
“Sa tingin natin, itong lahat ay paghahanda, pag-assure, that everything else prioritizes the safety of the learners, teachers, and staff,” says Sec. Briones, adding that the decision to send students to the school will be left to the parents.
Sec. Briones featured various online learning platforms such as the DepEd Commons, Instruction through Radio and Television broadcasting, modular learning, and others.
“Kung hindi pwede sa face to face, nandyan ang iba’t ibang paraan, may blended learning, inaadjust natin sa sitwasyon sa iba’t ibang lugar,” added Sec. Briones.
As early as April 21, DepEd announced that they have initially conducted a survey with 700,000 respondents, and Sec. Briones mentioned that most respondents expressed that they have capacities for online learning.
However, Dr. Jennie Jocson from the Philippine Normal University-Manila Research Center for Teacher Quality (PNU-RCTQ) scrutinized the preparedness of teachers to cater to online teaching.
Teachers unprepared for “online teaching”
“All that we’re talking about right now are stop-gap measures… but we’re not hitting where the problem really is, Mr. Chair. The problem is our teachers. Our teachers are not prepared to address all of these (Covid-19) concerns. The reasons why they are not prepared stem from pre-service teacher education,” said Jocson in a Senate Hearing of the Committee on Basic Education and Culture last May 14.
Dr. Jocson added that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) failed to link the pre-service training of teachers to Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST).
“If we protect the teachers, we solve most of the problems in education. The learners are of course our outcomes but you don’t go to the outcomes unless you begin with the source of education,” added Dr. Jocson.
Dr. Jocson also mentioned that it would take at least 5 years to ensure continuous development for the PPST, given that there are adjustments to move towards online instruction as part of the “new normal.”
DepEd to conduct “OPLAN Balik Eskwela” on June 1
DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan announced that OPLAN Balik Eskwela will begin from June 1 to August 29. This decision is in line with the Republic Act No. 7977 requiring Philippine school systems to begin the opening of classes from the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.
“If you have your children inside your house, and they don’t have anything to do in a span of ten months, matotorete sila,” says Sec. Briones, adding that students are expressing their longing to go back to school.
“If we address the concerns of teachers, if at one table we can face one another and we can all define one definition of what teacher quality means, I think the pandemic concerns will be solved, because the teachers would know what to do…” ended Dr. Jocson.
References:
https://www.deped.gov.ph/2020/04/21/on-the-opening-of-classes-for-sy-2020-2021/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXXs40NXfIo&t=382s
https://www.facebook.com/DepartmentOfEducation.PH/videos/252327102687126/
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