A group promoting children’s rights and welfare on Saturday called on all local government units (LGUs) and parents to “capitalize” on the extension period to be more prepared for the significant shift in the country’s educational system after the Aug. 24 school opening was postponed and was moved to Oct 5.
Save the Children Philippines (SCP) welcomed the decision of the government, as announced by the Department of Education (DepEd), to move the school opening in October this year.
“The support of parents, guardians, and the communities is critical to the fulfillment of the rights of every child to have access to quality and inclusive education, even during the pandemic,” said Save the Children Philippines Chief Executive Officer Atty. Alberto Muyot.
In an effort to help mitigate the rising cases of children missing out on school since the imposition of quarantine restrictions, the SCP has launched several programs that also complement the government’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) implemented by the DepEd.
In partnership with DepEd, SCP’s Project ARAL (Access to Resources for Alternative Learning) helps children from low-income families continue to learn at home through the provision of educational supplies and age-specific learning modules.
The Bahay-Aralan, a component of Project ARAL, is a series of videos featuring COVID-19-sensitive adaptive activities and inclusive educational lessons which support the development of young children across all domains and promote positive parenting and resilience.
Supporting Project ARAL are Save the Children’s 'Save with Stories’ that provides fun and education to kids and parents through storytelling sessions by their favorite local celebrities, and Humanity as One, Protecting, Educating Online (HOPE Online).
HOPE is a month-long fundraising event featuring popular personalities, artists, and change-makers giving hope to children which premiered today.
“We highly encourage our parents and guardians to use the period before the new class opening to avail of the learning opportunities we are providing in Save the Children to help ensure that no child is left behind and we continue our responsibility of being at the forefront of every child’s complete development,” said Muyot who is also a former Undersecretary of the DepEd.
The SCP, together with DepEd and the Australian government, also supports educators through its Sustaining Education Reform Gains (SERG) program that would improve the policies, systems, and processes for teacher professional development (TPD), to equip them better in facing new challenges in teaching.