“Education cannot wait.”
True to her words, Education Sec. Leonor Magtolis-Briones was able to push through the opening of school year 2020-21 as part of the Department’s Learning Continuity Plan, in light of the CoViD-19 pandemic.
Politicians and educators opposed the idea, but the introduction of the varied Learning Delivery Modalities (LDMs) earned the approval the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The LDMs included Face-to-Face Learning, Distance Learning, Blended Learning and Homeschooling.
The short preparation and abrupt shift from the traditional face-to-face classes cast a shadow of doubt on parents and teachers alike regarding the efficiency and efficacy of the program.
Some concerns were unavailability of gadgets, connectivity issues in some areas, and the role parents were required to perform in this new setting.
Debates on how the children will cope, and how the teachers will carry out their job without physical contact continued, but in the end, DepEd won its fight for a good cause. Parents enrolled their children, and the teachers went on to assume their roles in the new normal education.
Data showed that 25 million students have enrolled, or about 90 percent of the enrollees of the previous school year. Majority of the students opted for distance learning, among which 78 percent preferred modular over online learning.
However, the successful enrollment and high turnout was just the beginning. The real measure of LDM’s success was the assessment results of the students.
These results would reveal if the educational objectives were achieved, indicating learning progress that would prove that the continuity plan was not just a waste of time. Knowing how crucial it is to gain knowledge of the results, DepEd gathered data on the passing rate for the first quarter.
Prior to this, social media platforms were swarmed with photos of parents answering the modules and tests, instead of their children. The alleged justification: it was less time-consuming since children cannot answer on their own anyway.
The parents’ participation in the new learning set-up had become an issue right at the beginning, as the public believes the parents were compelled to do a task that is traditionally what teachers are paid for.
However, DepEd brushed off the issue by stating that the photos were just created for fun, and do not depict the whole picture of the current educational setting.
Teachers were even provided with interim guidelines on assessment and grading to ensure reliable and valid results. It was further reiterated that mass promotion should never be considered.
Favorably, the results did not disappoint as it revealed that 99.13 percent of the students passed the first quarter.
This boosted the confidence of both parties, parents and educators, that education was present, and even more so effective.
The concerns gradually died down, and all efforts were concentrated on the continuous effective implementation of the Learning Continuity Plan.
And if anybody would look back, one could tell that this painstaking educational venture was all worth it.
Jamm Y. Villavecencio
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