The Department of Education (DepEd) has sought the help of at least 720 curriculum specialists from all regions who will help in the conformance review of the Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) for the second quarter.
The Office of DepEd Undersecretary for Field Operations Revsee Escobedo confirmed that “45 curriculum specialists per region” were “tasked to do conformance review of self learning modules” for the second quarter.
There are 16 DepEd regional offices nationwide.
Escobedo, in a recent press briefing, said that regional offices have various initiatives to expedite the conformance review process for the 2nd quarter SLMs. “There will also be adjustment in the review process and the conformance reviewers shall be given the authority to apply changes in the modules,” he explained.
Escobedo noted that regional reinforcements were sought in reviewing the SLMs. “At least 45 chiefs and education program supervisors from the regions will help in the conformance review for the second quarter,” he added.
Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio also confirmed that the conformance reviewers from the regional offices “have started doing their tasks” as part of DepEd’s efforts to minimize the errors in the SLMs distributed to the students.
The conformance reviewers from the ROs, San Antonio said, are asked to do the review on the SLMs for the succeeding quarters and “they will still be needed in evaluating the privately-developed SLMs,” which DepEd plans to procure in the third and fourth quarters of the current school year.
DepEd Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Atyy. Nepomuceno Malaluan, on the other hand, stressed that one of the considerations so far is rolling out the “learning resources in the proper time.”
Following reports of error-field modules, Malaluan said that some adjustments in the review and quality assurance processes are being undertaken. “There are also trade offs because sources of errors are harder to identify because of decentralization,” he said.
Malaluan said that DepEd is trying to achieve a balance between the SLMs issued by the Central Office and those that are locally produced by the regions. In the coming weeks, he noted that “there will be a more definite combination between centrally produced or quality assured materials in relation to what will be allowed to be locally produced.”
Despite these adjustments, DepEd assured that there will be “contingency plans” just in case there will be delay in printing or reproduction of SLMs.
“At the end of the day, it is the field units that should have delivered the learning resources to the children at the proper time,” he ended.