DepEd takes cognizance of errors in textbooks – Briones
Published Sep 20, 2018 04:58 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) underscored the importance of “putting into proper context” the discussion about erroneous textbooks relative to the issue of giving “one-sided” accounts.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
The discussion on “erroneous” textbooks transpired during the hearing of the agency’s 2019 proposed budget at the Senate Sub-Committee on Education recently.
“Foremost, the old textbooks in question, despite reported use in certain public schools in Valenzuela and Bulacan, are not issued by DepEd,” the agency said in a statement. “These are also not aligned with the K to 12 curriculum, hence the inadequate information on the Marcos dictatorship,” DepEd added.
Meanwhile, the DepEd remains “cognizant of the importance of looking into similar materials, which may be using marks of the agency, and is already implementing reviews and reforms to ensure and update the accuracy compliance to learning competencies of materials used in public schools.”
DepEd noted that it “has reached out to and invited the most active critic of textbooks to participate in the process.”
Limited DepEd mandate
DepEd also cited that Republic Act No. 8047, the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, confines the Department’s mandate to “preparing the minimum learning competencies, and/or prototypes and other specifications for books and/or manuscripts called for; testing, evaluating, selecting and approving the manuscripts or books to be submitted by the publishers for multiple adoption; providing assistance in the distribution of textbooks to the public school systems; and promulgating with the participation and assistance of the Board rules and regulations for the private book publishers in the call, testing evaluation, selection, approval, as well as production specification and acquisition of public school textbooks.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, during the Senate hearing, noted that the “law says that this has to be written and published by private printers we are not allowed and this explains also why in spite of new developments, new information, new perspectives, these are not reflected in the textbooks right away.”
DepEd, Briones noted, has also been “implementing varying evaluation and quality assurance processes for learning resources and instructional materials” developed by private publishers for the agency.
Schools in check
“Part of our efforts to make all these corrections is to look at the schools that are still using these kinds of textbooks, which have lost their relevance,” Briones said.
“It is a duty on our part to check on the schools who are still using these books because we have a lot of new materials already,” she added.
DepEd also noted that it is “already conducting review workshops of all its learning materials to help identify and correct errors” and is also “considering ways” on how to ensure that textbooks being used in private schools may also be reviewed by the Department prior to use.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
The discussion on “erroneous” textbooks transpired during the hearing of the agency’s 2019 proposed budget at the Senate Sub-Committee on Education recently.
“Foremost, the old textbooks in question, despite reported use in certain public schools in Valenzuela and Bulacan, are not issued by DepEd,” the agency said in a statement. “These are also not aligned with the K to 12 curriculum, hence the inadequate information on the Marcos dictatorship,” DepEd added.
Meanwhile, the DepEd remains “cognizant of the importance of looking into similar materials, which may be using marks of the agency, and is already implementing reviews and reforms to ensure and update the accuracy compliance to learning competencies of materials used in public schools.”
DepEd noted that it “has reached out to and invited the most active critic of textbooks to participate in the process.”
Limited DepEd mandate
DepEd also cited that Republic Act No. 8047, the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, confines the Department’s mandate to “preparing the minimum learning competencies, and/or prototypes and other specifications for books and/or manuscripts called for; testing, evaluating, selecting and approving the manuscripts or books to be submitted by the publishers for multiple adoption; providing assistance in the distribution of textbooks to the public school systems; and promulgating with the participation and assistance of the Board rules and regulations for the private book publishers in the call, testing evaluation, selection, approval, as well as production specification and acquisition of public school textbooks.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, during the Senate hearing, noted that the “law says that this has to be written and published by private printers we are not allowed and this explains also why in spite of new developments, new information, new perspectives, these are not reflected in the textbooks right away.”
DepEd, Briones noted, has also been “implementing varying evaluation and quality assurance processes for learning resources and instructional materials” developed by private publishers for the agency.
Schools in check
“Part of our efforts to make all these corrections is to look at the schools that are still using these kinds of textbooks, which have lost their relevance,” Briones said.
“It is a duty on our part to check on the schools who are still using these books because we have a lot of new materials already,” she added.
DepEd also noted that it is “already conducting review workshops of all its learning materials to help identify and correct errors” and is also “considering ways” on how to ensure that textbooks being used in private schools may also be reviewed by the Department prior to use.