PRINTING of modules will be completed, assured the Department of Education (DepEd)-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to parents and learners with the more than P900 million commitment of the different provinces in the region.
May Eclar, DepEd-CAR director, said aside from the commitment of various provincial and local government units for the printing of learning modules, funds are being downloaded from the central office to the eight schools divisions in the region.
Data from DepEd-CAR show a total of P253.102 million will be downloaded by the central office for printing of self-learning modules in CAR, while P985,459,727.50 is needed for printing modules for the first quarter sourced out from the different provincial local government units, school maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), private donors, and Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) Program funds.
Mountain Province got the biggest allotment with P415.2 million out of the P985 million, P156.38 million in Apayao, P39,454,514 in Ifugao, P32,292,650 in Benguet, P20 million in Kalinga, P14 million in Abra, and P8 million in Tabuk City.
Of the P985 million, P685,329,804 is from the different provincial local government unit’s special education fund. This fund is derived from the additional one percent tax on real property and is allotted by the local government to the local school boards.
As of October 4, DepEd-CAR has completed printing modules for the first month of classes.
Under the DepEd’s learning continuity plan (LCOP), there are three primary learning delivery modalities, namely, modular distance learning, online distance learning and TV/radio-based instruction.
Under modular distance learning, learners use self-learning modules (SLMs) in print or digital format and other learning resources like learners’ materials textbooks, study guides and activity sheets.
DepEd is distributing printed modules to schools that are located in coastal areas, far-flung provinces, and communities without access to the internet or electricity.
In online distance learning, the teacher will facilitate synchronous instruction and engage the learners through videoconferencing technologies.
The learners may download SLMs from the DepEd Commons, DepEd Learning Resource Portal or from the schools learning management system, complete and submit assignments online, and attend webinars and virtual classes.
Private schools that have been holding virtual classes since August conduct both synchronous and asynchronous learning sessions.
Under the TV/radio-based instruction, this modality uses SLMs converted to video lessons for television-based instruction and SLMs converted to radio script for radio-based instruction.
DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Pascua, who is also the chairperson of DepEd Task Force Covid-19, on October 4, posted the different television channels that learners may access.
Video lessons will be broadcast nationwide from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, except Sundays, beginning on October 5 through IBC 13, Cignal, GSAT, Gracia, Solar, Skycable, ABS-CBN TV Plus and GMA Affordabox.
Eclar said there are 400,105 enrollees for the school year from Kinder to Grade 12, including those with disabilities, and alternative learning system, which accounts to only 86.6 percent compared to the enrollment last year.
Based on a recent survey, 80.12 percent of the enrollees from CAR prefer modular learning, 9.84 percent module with online, 5.14 percent module with audio or radio, 8.35 percent module with TV or video and 1.68 percent purely online.
Classes were halted on March 13, before the start of the community quarantine. The national government also canceled graduation ceremonies as a precautionary measure against the infection of the Covid-19 pandemic. (With a report from SunStar Philippines)