Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas has sought a congressional probe into the proliferation of erroneous students’ self-learning materials (SLMs) from the Department of Education (DepEd).
He filed House Resolution No. 1292 calling on the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, chaired by Pasig City lone District Rep. Roman Romulo to step in and look into the issue.
“The DepEd is responsible for maintaining the quality of education in terms of reviewing the content and language of learning materials, including SLMs (self-learning materials),” said Vargas, vice chairperson of the House Committees on Appropriations and Public Information.
“The proliferation of such erroneous learning materials undermines the quality education and welfare of Filipino students and must be investigated and addressed immediately,” he stressed.
He noted that for the first week of public school classes, the DepEd has received 34 screenshots of errors in modules as disclosed earlier by DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio.
Quoting San Antonio, the House leader said that of the 34 reported errors, one was produced by the DepEd Central Office, 18 were from modules developed by the regional and division officers, while 15 were from undetermined sources, possibly from private schools.
Vargas cited the efforts of the DepEd to officially launch its “Error Watch” on October 12 to receive, collate, and validate reports of errors found in its learning materials, DepEd television episodes, and online platform DepEd commons.
“We support the Department of Education in its continuous efforts to make learning resources in schools undergo quality assurance and maintain the quality of education for all,” he said.
He expressed hope that the Romulo panel would soon give in to his call. “It is within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Basic Education and Culture to investigate all matters directly and principal relating to pre-school, elementary, and secondary education , as well as teachers’ and students’ welfare,” Vargas said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the DepEd decided to implement distance and blended learning education with the use of students’ SLMs to continue the delivery of quality and accessible education to Filipino students starting on October 5.