In August 2020, DepEd’s self-learning modules (SLMs) and other online learning materials drew flak in social media for obvious grammatical and arithmetic errors. Various sectors were alarmed because the accuracy and quality of these modules are crucial to the academic development of learners who cannot afford to attend online classes. Needless to say, the digital divide among Filipino learners is made clearer by these inaccuracies. Given that most students have opted for modular learning, one could imagine the academic, social, and economic drawbacks of this negligence.
Two months later, DepEd launched the “Error Watch” initiative. It aims to serve as a platform where parents and guardians could report errors concerning SLMs. It is baffling that the solution of DepEd is to pass on the burden of quality assessment to outside parties. A better action would have been to allocate resources to ensure that these errors do not get printed in the first place.
Undeniably, the following questionable content of these DepEd modules warrants criticism and indignation in social media. In November 2020, photos of modular questions body-shaming actress Angel Locsin surfaced. This was followed by screenshots of illustrations that featured a classist representation of farmers. A few days later, the internet lauds a first grader for going against the gender stereotypes depicted in her module. In the same breath, alarmed parents aired their grievances on social media on the lewd choices in their children’s take-home exams. Just last month, a controversial error in the form of a sex-crazed aswang, a monster in Philippine folklore, found its way to a learning module used by Grade 10 students and was exposed in the hearing of the House Committee on Public Accounts which horrified lawmakers and parents. DepEd denied ownership of the malicious modules but admitted to the insufficiency of assessment and evaluative mechanisms to monitor the content of the distributed modules. Teachers were once again placed on the chopping block receiving the brunt of criticism from the public as DepEd evades accountability.
The prevalence of these incidents is a manifestation of DepEd’s unpreparedness for remote learning and the administration’s incompetence that insisted on the resumption of classes. Government institutions are constitutionally mandated to advocate for social and gender equality. It is also their responsibility to aid the moral and academic development of Filipino learners. DepEd’s subpar commitment to fulfilling its mandate reveals a lot about the strength of the moral fiber of government in the Philippines. The fact that DepEd received the biggest allocation of the national budget at 500 billion pesos in 2020 makes it even more appalling.
Issues concerning access and quality are not new to the Philippine education system. Students and teachers in remote areas put their lives at risk every day to reach their schools. Classrooms are insufficient and learning resources are scarce. Teachers have been clamoring for increased wages since time immemorial, while the country’s out-of-school population has been rising at an alarming rate. On top of this, the curriculum is criticized as outdated and redundant. This institutionalized neglect towards Filipino learners is a cruel reality that we have been forced to stomach for decades. In defense, the Department of Education would assert that these issues are “beyond their control”. They would hide under the guise of fragile and short-term initiatives that promise to elevate the quality of education in the country.
Evidently, the country’s education system is dilapidated. Its primary stakeholders remain disenfranchised and are deprived of the services that DepEd has been promising for years. The fact of the matter is the projects that it has been launching recently stand as mere fillers to the gaping cracks in the system. The need to demand accountability continues to grow as the department continues to receive the lion’s share in the national budget. It is time to confront these initiatives and lip service as they are – band-aid solutions. In ripping this band-aid, we challenge the institutional neglect of the Department of Education to both its teachers and learners. Citizens must question the competence of its leadership, its ability to respond to criticism and improve its mechanisms. DepEd’s stakeholders must lambast its unwillingness to listen. Collectively, sectors must organize to mobilize against the department’s overdue evasion of accountability and expose the failing mark of DepEd’s performance.
References:
Agoncillo, J. A. (2020, June). DepEd to work around 2020 budget of P500 billion. Inquirer. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1327079/deped-to-work-around-2020-budget-of-p-500b/amp.
Domingo, K. (2020, November 20). 'Zero tolerance': DepEd to issue disclaimer on 'poor' depiction of farmer in module. ABS-CBN News. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/20/20/zero-tolerance-deped-to-issue-disclaimer-on-poor-depiction-of-farmer-in-module.
Hernando-Malipot, M. (2020, October 13). DepEd launches ‘Error Watch’ initiative. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2020/10/13/deped-launches-error-watch-initiative/?amp.
Isinika, A. (2020, October 21). This grade 1 student is untroubled by gender stereotypes on children’s toys. Rappler. https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/20/20/zero-tolerance-deped-to-issue-disclaimer-on-poor-depiction-of-farmer-in-module.
Malasig, J. (2021, July 14). DepEd urged to proofread modules carefully after vulgar term gets printed on learning material. Interaksyon. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2021/06/14/193809/deped-urged-to-proofread-modules-carefully-after-vulgar-term-gets-printed-on-learning-material/.
San Juan, R. (2020, November 13). Angel Locsin 'body-shamed' in Pe example for learning module. PhilStar Global. https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2020/11/13/2056679/angel-locsin-body-shamed-pe-example-learning-module.
Comments