As it braces for the crucial weeks before the opening on Oct. 5, the Department of Education (DepEd) assured the reproduction of printed modules to be used by students in public schools for distance/blended learning is right on track.

DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio said that the reproduction as well as the distribution of printed Self Learning Modules (SLMs) are ongoing in various regions and divisions nationwide.

During the Sept. 14 virtual presser, San Antonio said that when it comes to printing of modules, “73.36 % of the division offices are on track.” He noted that this figure represents 157 out of 214 Schools Division Offices (SDOs) nationwide.

San Antonio noted that there are also some regions that completed the printing of SLMs including Regions II, IV-A, IV-B, IX, and XII. “All these SDOs have reported that they completed almost 100 % of the reproduction,” he said.

In Metro Manila, San Antonio said the SDOs are currently distributing modules for the students. With the help of the local government unit, students in public schools located in the National Capital Region (NCR) will receive printed modules.

San Antonio, during the House of Representatives’ ( Committee on Appropriations deliberation on the budget allocation for the DepEd on Tuesday, also noted that in some areas, the distribution of modules “will most likely be on a weekly basis.”

When it comes to approaches in delivering distance modalities this school year, San Antonio said that DepEd “offered several options.” For those learners with gadgets and with access to the Internet at home, they will do online distance learning.

For those who do not have access to the internet but with access to gadgets, they will be doing modular digital wherein the “learning resources will be sent to the learners through flash drives or in any other means and they will be open these at home.”

Of all the options, San Antonio said that modular printed is the “most popular choice of families even in areas - which we believe - they have access to gadgets or Internet.” These students will use printed SLMs. DepEd will also make use of TV and radio - “essentially to supplement the other modalities.”

“The approach really is blended, distance learning,” San Antonio explained. Aside from printed and offline SLMs, textbooks aligned with the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs), activity sheets and learning plans prepared by teachers will also be used. “Essentially, the learning will happen at home,” San Antonio said.

He added that the learning approaches will also not be uniform because local DepEd officials were “empowered” to contextualize the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) depending on their respective circumstances.