The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines affirmed the saying, “it takes a village to educate a child”, as it announced on Tuesday that classes will be resuming amidst the “new normal” on August 24, 2020.
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones went live on the Laging Handa Public Briefing aired and streamed live on PTV 4 platforms on May 5 and announced the multi-sectoral consultations resulted in the agreed date of the start of the new school year in the last week of August and ending on April 30, 2021.
Sec. Briones clarified that students will not all be physically going back to school as lockdown remains enforced in several areas to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.
The DepEd chief explained that their decision was based on several consultations and considerations of protecting the health, safety, and well-being of learners as a first priority.
“But at the same time gusto nating patuloy ang edukasyon. Ang hirap naman kung tigilan natin ang learning process samantalang nandito ang pandemic. Dahil ang mga bats habang nasa bahay kailangang patuloy din ang pag-aaral nila. Patuloy din ang pag-acquire nila ng knowledge. Pero mas malaki na ang papel ng magulang, mga lola at lolo sa pag-learn ng mga bata.
“Mahalaga ang papel ng mga magulang at mga kasama sa bahay sa pag-aaral ng mga bata.
“Ang edukasyon ngayon ay community-driven activity. Much of the time will be spent at home,” the education leader added.
Students may be virtually going back to school via several platforms being prepared by the education department. Among these offered platforms for learning:
- internet via the DepEd Learning Commons
- television school on air
- radio school on air
DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan added that learning kits and printed materials are being prepared for students without access to the internet. For those with access to the internet, Usec. Malaluan emphasized the need for elders to guide their safe use of the online platform.
Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio added that the online learning resources are being set up on the DepEd Commons.
DepEd had earlier partnered with civic groups to counter the exploitation of children online while adopting 21st-century learning methods using the internet.
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