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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Put books in learners' hands, Gatchalian tells DepEd after woeful EDCOM II report

Put books in learners' hands, Gatchalian tells DepEd after woeful EDCOM II report

Published Feb 10, 2024 03:05 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is prodding the Department of Education (DepEd) to streamline its processes for textbook procurement in a bid to ensure that all learners get books.
  • Vice President Sara Duterte is the DepEd secretary.

20240210_225537.jpgSenator Sherwin Gatchalian (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is prodding the Department of Education (DepEd) to streamline its processes for textbook procurement in a bid to ensure that all learners get books. 

Gatchalian made the call after the year-one report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) revealed the extent of issues in public school textbook procurement. 

“Ang edukasyon ng ating mga kabataan ang napapabayaan kung patuloy ang mga suliranin sa pagkakaroon ng sapat at dekalidad na mga textbooks,” said Gatchalian. 

(The youth's education will be neglected if these problems on the procurement of quality textbooks continue.) 

Vice President Sara Duterte is the DepEd secretary.

Gatchalian, co-chairperson of EDCOM II, previously urged the DepEd to consider the pre-selection of textbooks like private schools do, and noted that the government should aspire to give books to all learners. 

The EDCOM’s findings align with results of the 2019 Southeast Asian Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), which showed that at least one out of five Grade 5 learners shared textbooks with another student or more. 

In the report titled Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education, the EDCOM II pointed out that since 2012, only 27 textbooks for Kindergarten to Grade 10 have been procured. 

The report also revealed that from 2018 to 2022, P12.6 billion has been allocated for textbooks and other instructional materials, 35.3 percent (P4.5 billion) of which was obligated and 7.5 percent (P952 million) was disbursed. 

The EDCOM further revealed that since the K to 12 curriculum was introduced, only textbooks for Grades 5 and 6 were successfully procured. 

Citing consultations with the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and private publishers, the EDCOM also pointed out that insufficient development time and a prolonged review process are among the bottlenecks of textbook procurement. 

While the NBDB said that the development of textbooks usually takes 18 months, the DepEd gives only six months for the textbook call, which pushes publishers to submit premade drafts with minor revisions to match DepEd requirements. This results in a prolonged revision and editing process. 

The DepEd also lacks dedicated staff for reviewing textbooks. 

Publishers, on the other hand, said that they have received conflicting comments from different reviewers.

 

Related Tags

Sherwin Gatchalian edcom DepEd Sara Duterte
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