Sen. Gatchalian backs DepEd's plan to hire learner support aides in COVID-19 low-risk areas

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on basic education, arts and culture, supported the Department of Education's (DepEd) plan to hire the service of ‘learner support aides.'

Photo credit: mb.com.ph

Gatchalian said that the learner support aides should only be deployed in low-risk areas and that strict health standards should be observed to prevent an increase in coronavirus cases when the country officially opens classes on October 5.

Gatchalian liked the idea of learner support aides to learning pods, which are sometimes called pandemic pods, nano-schools, or micro-schools. 

The so-called "learning pods" are small, in-person groups of students learning together with the help of an in-person tutor or teacher. 

Gatchalian compared the concept of learner support aides to 'learning pods' that bring together students who are no more than ten with the intention of maintaining the usual physical interaction of the child.

Marami kasi sa kanila ang hindi makatagal sa ilang oras na klase sa pamamagitan ng internet. Naging popular ang learning pods sa Estados Unidos dahil hirap ang maraming magulang na tutukan ang kanilang anak para sa distance learning,

said Gatchalian.

[Many of them can't last a few hours of classes through the internet. Learning pods have become popular in the United States because it is difficult for many parents to focus on their child for distance learning,]

The department is currently finalizing the guidelines on hiring learner support aides, which include tutors and para-teachers said DepEd Undersecretary Jesus Mateo.

Learner support aides will help and assist parents in the education of their children especially with the implementation of new ways of learning amid the COVID-19 crisis. 

We can deploy learner support aides immediately to low risk areas. We just need to make sure that they will pass rigorous health tests or health standards. They should observe social distancing and wearing of masks. Kailangang magdoble ingat [There is a need to be extra cautious]. Inviting anyone to our homes can increase the risk of infection, 

Gatchalian said.

The hiring of teacher-assistants, according to the senator, is authorized under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Republic Act 11494), or Bayanihan 2.

To meet the funding requirements for the hiring of these teacher-assistants, the unused balance of DepEd’s 2020 “New School Personnel Positions” and “Basic Education Facilities” appropriations are realigned to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) for “Operations of Schools-Elementary, Junior and Senior High School” under its “Support to Schools and Learners Program.”