Former Senator
Atty. Joey Lina
FINDING ANSWERS
With many unprecedented challenges facing our education system this school year 2020-2021 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is understandable why some people feel jittery.Despite assurances from the Department of Education that nationwide preparations are in full swing for the opening of classes on Oct. 5 in public schools, many are still worried about the shift from the traditional face-to-face classroom education to distance learning on a massive scale.
The anxiety revolves around uncertainties on whether teachers and students would be able to cope with online education or a combination of various distance learning modalities using printed modules, including TV and radio-based instruction.
But listening to former Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro who was a recent guest in my Sunday teleradyo program Sagot Ko ‘Yan, one could feel so much hope that the opening of basic education classes for more than 20 million students enrolled in the country’s public schools would be as smooth and orderly as possible despite all the birth pains facing distance learning.
Bro. Luistro said that the nation’s 800,000 teachers are relatively young — mostly with ages below 40 years old — and as such, are adept at using digital technology. “Ang kailangan na lang na kaunting training ng titser ay kung paano gamitin ang teknolohiya para sa learning. At hindi napakahirap ‘yan kasi nakikita natin ang mga titser – very creative (What’s needed is just a little training for teachers on the use of technology for learning, and that’s not difficult because our teachers are very creative),” he said.
He stressed that it is essential for the Department of Information and Communications Technology to ensure that Internet connectivity is vastly improved and that the DICT must fulfill its promise to have 10,000 free Wi-Fi sites all over the country by the end of 2020. I fully agree with the need for the DICT to go full blast in its ambitious free public Wi-Fi program, as mandated by RA 10929, the Free Internet in Public Places Act of 2017, which would tremendously benefit public basic education institutions.
Aside from online education relying on Internet connectivity, learning will be conducted through the use of self-learning modules (SLMs) which the DepEd said can be “in print or digital format/electronic copy, whichever is applicable in the context of the learner and other learning resources like learner’s materials, textbooks, activity sheets, study guides and other study materials.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said, “DepEd puts focus on self-learning modules as the primary learning tool that can cater to all students, which can then be blended with other learning delivery modalities that the student has access to.” She explained that lessons “will be delivered to the students in their homes through printed modules prepared for learners who have limited access or have absolutely no access to Internet and digital services.”
With such set-up, logistical problems are likely to arise amid limitations in mobility resulting from community quarantine. To deal with such predicament, Bro. Luistro said that it is essential that a strong partnership is established between schools and local government units, particularly at the barangay level.
He said school principals, barangay officials, and parent-teacher associations ought to forge a strong partnership and discuss what’s best in the pursuit of distance learning. He said principals can seek the help of barangay chairmen in the use of barangay transport facilities to deliver learning materials. Also, barangays can establish Internet hubs where students can converge for their online learning needs.
A strong partnership between schools and LGUs can indeed facilitate educational governance, with the local school board (LSB) functioning in its crucial role. As provided by the Local Government Code of 1991, provinces, cities, and municipalities have their own respective LSBs comprised of the local chief executive and appropriate superintendent or supervisor of schools as co-chairmen, with members consisting of the local sanggunian’s education committee chairman, the local treasurer, representative of Sangguniang Kabataan, representative of the teachers’ organization, and representative of the non-academic personnel of public schools.
When I was Laguna governor, the LSB met almost monthly, and not just once every quarter, to review the programs, projects and activities aimed at improving overall the quality of education provided to pupils in Laguna elementary and high schools.
With the Oct. 5 school opening fast approaching, it is imperative for LSBs to meet as often as possible to iron out any kinks, and for barangay officials and school principals to help each other and tackle problems at the barangay level.
Even the issue concerning out-of-school youth, with more than 5 million young Filipinos who failed to enroll for various reasons related to the pandemic – either due to increased poverty or misgivings about distance learning – can be resolved with barangay officials and teachers joining efforts to seek them out, Bro. Luistro said.
Indeed, many solutions to national problems can be resolved at the local level, particularly in barangays, with strong partnerships among stakeholders.
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