DepEd's preparations for school opening on Oct. 5 proceeds fully

On Friday, Department of Education (DepEd) said that preparations for the opening of classes on October 5 are in full swing nationwide.

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In a statement DepEd said that all concerned units at the Central Office, regional offices, and school division offices are conducting various activities and initiatives to ensure the school opening for 2020-2021 in October will be as smooth and orderly as possible.

Teachers are engaged in various upskilling activities, including module and worksheet writing, messenger and Google classroom, and mental health, resilience and stress care to be fully equipped for the coming online classes.

Parents are also invited to attend sessions on parenting in the midst of pandemic, “Virtual Ugnayang Paaralan-Tahanan” and parents orientation and consultation, DepEd said.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones expressed her gratitude to Local Governmet Units and its leaders for supporting their initiatives in the department's Basic Education - Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP).

DepEd cited the efforts of the City of Manila for providing laptops and gadgets to the students and teachers. These will be used for distance learning this school year since the conduct of face-to-face classes is not yet allowed by the authorities. Briones thanked Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno for his aggressive and persistent efforts related to education. She also commended Moreno for his informing the public about what local governments and national departments do together and work together for the continuance of education.

On August 26, Moreno and DepEd Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua led the turnover ceremony for the initiative. The Manila LGU distributed 11,000 laptops with pocket Wi-Fi for teachers, 136,950 tablets and 296,000 data sim cards for students. The gadgets are for the conduct of distance learning.

Meanwhile, DepEd Usec. Revsee Escobedo said, the final dry run for distance learning for students will be held in the second week of September.

This school year, DepEd will implement blended or distance learning wherein schools will be using various alternative learning delivery modalities. The department is thankful and asking for everyone's cooperation and help for the success of the Learning Continuity Plan.