Safety protocols set up in delivering self-learning modules- DepEd

The Department of Education (DepEd) said that to make sure of the safety for both teachers and students amid Covid-19 pandemic, regional offices (ROs) and school division offices (SDOs) have contextualized the mode of delivery of the Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) to be used this upcoming school year. 

Photo credit: deped.gov.ph

DepEd Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo said that regional offices and school district offices established health and safety protocols for teachers in distributing self-learning modules to students ahead of the Oct. 5 school opening.

Regional and district offices conduct disinfection of learning materials prior to packing and distribution. The department also enforced stronger partnerships with the barangay councils that will help in facilitating the distribution and retrieval of modules to their respective barangays.

Escobedo explained that regional offices issued memoranda on strengthened management and response to COVID-19 and the implementation of alternative work arrangements in all levels of governance. Aside from the formulation of the Contingency Plan for COVID-19 pandemic, he noted the “inclusion of COVID-19 protocols and other health-related reminders in learners’ package kits.”

Escobedo added that learning modalities per school district offices are delivered in different methods, depending on the accessibility and COVID-19 Risk Severity Classification of the areas in the divisions. He said,

In particular, school district offices have options such as blended learning, which combines two or more learning modalities, distance learning and homeschooling, which are more applicable for high risk areas,

Apart from the main modalities, Escobedo said that some schools will also be utilizing online modalities. He added,

Notably, all school district offices in the National Capital Region will be using online platforms for all grade levels.

As of August 24, all regions will be using Printed Modules, TV-Based Instruction, and Radio-Based Instruction. 

Based on the data submitted by eight regions, for this school year, there are:

• 18,920 schools that will use Printed Modules
• 2,819 schools will use TV-Based Instruction
• 3,352 schools that will use Radio-Based Instruction

For status of printing modules:

• Regions I, II, IV-A, IX, X, XIII and the NCR are in the “Advanced” stage [80%-100% stage of SLM printing]
•  Regions III, IV-B, V, VII, VIII, and XII that are in the “Progressing” stage [50%-79% stage in SLM printing]
• Regions VI, XI, XIII and CAR are in the “Catching Up” stage [25%-49% stage of SLM printing]
• There are four out of the 214 school district offices that are “Lagging Behind” [0%-24% stage of SLM printing]