Module distribution, protection of teachers must continue as in-person classes still cancelled due to new COVID-19 strain - Gatchalian

On Tuesday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that the education sector will have to depend on continuous distribution of self-learning modules and protection of teachers after a new coronavirus strain had been discovered. This has hindered the supposed dry run of face-to-face classes in January.

[The] way forward for now, because the environment is uncertain, is to make sure that we have modules being distributed and we have teachers that are being protected from COVID by making sure that they have access to PPEs, access to testing,

Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate committee on basic education, said in an interview on ANC.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Gatchalian assured that the 2021 budget is "well-equipped" to address the educational needs of learners.

The education sector got the highest allocation with P708.2 billion. The senator said about P16 billion was earmarked for the production of self-learning modules, and P6 billion for computerization. He also added that a substantial budget has also been allocated from DepEd’s budget for the Alternative Learning System (ALS).

There are two million plus [learners] who did not enroll, and the way to address them is to make sure that ALS is functioning,

Gatchalian said.

The senator has also called for the inclusion of teachers on the list of priority recipients of COVID-19 vaccines from the government.

School Year 2020-2021’s second quarter will start on January 4, 2021 among public school students.