By Fernan Angeles
CITING failure of the Department of Education to prepare, the Parents-Teachers Alliance (PTA) urged President Rodrigo Duterte to postpone the August 24 class opening to give more time for its preparation.
In a letter sent to the President, PTA chairperson Atty. Emilio Abelita III said: “Nagpadala kami ng sulat sa Pangulo. Ang sabi namin kung pupuwede bigyan ng kaunting panahon para mabigyan ng DepEd ng ample time to prepare,” Abelita said.
Abelita hinted at DepEd’s inability to prepare for the August 24 class opening citing poor connectivity for online learning and the lack of resources for teachers to provide educational materials.
“As you know kahapon nga nag-dry run sila. Actually hindi nga natuloy dahil nagkaroon ng glitches, nagkaroon ng technical problems,” Abelita said.
“This is one of the problems na ating dinudulog dahil ang ating online classes na sinasabi ng Department of Education ay still too good to be true,” he added.
On Monday, a technical problem marred the DepEd’s launch of its school readiness program, which aims to showcase the readiness of schools for blended learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kalimutan na natin ‘yung online learning. Sabi nga it’s too good to be true, na we have connectivity problems. Kung wala mang connectivity problems, mga gadgets ng mga mag-aaral o kaya guro ang problema,” Abelita said.
“Let us just confine ourselves to modular learning,” he added.
Abelita added that even the teachers remain confused as to how they would be able to provide materials such as bond papers, ink, and printers for the modular learning as DepEd, they added didn’t issue any.
“Ang logistical problems are number one, hindi nila alam kung sila ang mamumuhunan, sila ang bibili ng learning materials kasi hanggang ngayon wala pa namang dina-download ang DepEd,” he said.
“That is why most of our teachers now are practically groveling, namamalimos ng pondo dahil hindi nila alam kung saan sila kukuha ng coupon bond (paper), ink, at saka mga printers,” he added.
According to Abelita, the task of printing the modules was passed to schools, which they claimed badly lack personnel in campuses – thus leaving them no choice but to take the cudgel at their own expense.
“Kung ang DepEd lang ay magpakatotoo ay ang dalawa o tatlong buwan (of postponement) ay medyo sapat na dahil sa ngayon naka-ilang buwan na sila e,” he added.
However, DepEd Undersecretary Jesus Mateo pointed out that the August 24 schedule was based on the survey that they conducted among students, parents, and teachers.
“Nagkaroon ng technical difficulty kahapon doon sa dry run, pero bagaman noon natuloy pa rin e,” Mateo said.
“Makikita niyo kung papaano nag-adjust, nag-adapt ang kagawaran bagaman meron itong mga pagsubok doon sa ating ginawang dry run, na successful po,” he added.
On the issue of poor connectivity, Mateo explained that other modalities such as module and broadcast communication-based learning are also available as an alternative.
Aside from PTA, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition also called for the postponement of the August 24 class opening through the help of basic education committees in Congress.
Amid these calls, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones on Monday said the department will pursue the opening of classes on August 24 despite opposition from groups of teachers.