In front of the top officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) learners in Camiguin shared their experiences with the distance learning setup in the last two years.

During a press conference, DepEd Executive Committee (Execom) members initiated a discussion with the student-journalists of Camiguin on their perspective on the blended learning modality implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Campus journalists Marde Pacto and Christian Pantallano from the Yumbing National High School in Mambajao, Camiguin shared their insights on learning continuity amid the pandemic. “Based on my experience, the blended learning and face-to-face were quite different,” Pacto said.

“It was different for me because it had been almost two years that there were no face-to-face classes. It's like I've learned more than what I've actually learned from the modular learning,” Pacto added. Aside from the challenges he faced during the pandemic, Pantallano also provided suggestions to the DepEd on improving the implementation of face-to-face classes.

“Ang suhestyon ko sa DepEd para mapabuti ang paghahatid ng edukasyon sa pangkalahatan para sa face-to-face classes ay mas paglaanan ng guro ang mga estudyante ng mas mahabang oras upang maturuan kami ng mga leksiyon (My suggestion to DepEd to improve the delivery of education for face-to-face classes is for the teacher to give students more time to teach us lessons),” he added.

Meanwhile, the DepEd officials recognized the challenges of blended learning and assured the students that the agency is addressing these concerns.

“We know that the inputs of our learners are significant to improve the education delivery in the country,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

“We are very much aware that they are the ones experiencing our policies first-hand, together with our public school teachers,” she added.

Briones also noted that active participation of the youth in the policies of the education sector is an important aspect in making sure that DepEd is giving them a quality basic education.

“We have to think about the future of our learners, and through this, we would know what they would need in the next few years,” Briones explained. Meanwhile, Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Nepomuceno Malaluan also discussed the in-person classes currently being implemented in School Year 2021-2022 by the DepEd nationwide.

As part of the DepEd's policymaking, Malaluan noted that the department is aware of the existing challenges the learners have faced during the implementation of the Basic Education - Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP).

Aside from the blended learning and face-to-face classes discussion, the student-journalists from the DepEd Northern Mindanao also asked the Execom members about the DepEd’s initiatives and education issues addressed by the current administration.