Time constraint has forced the distribution of learning packages instead of textbooks in public schools to get the government鈥檚 enhanced basic education program, or K to 12, up and running, said an official of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Edwin Uy, the DepEd鈥檚 program coordinator, told the Inquirer on Friday that the packages were 鈥渕ore cost-effective鈥� in ensuring that the materials conform with new standards and were 鈥渇aster鈥� to publish.
He said it would take publishers a year and a half to two years to publish textbooks and that this could not be an option for the department.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 wait for one to two years for new materials,鈥� Uy said, pointing out that the learning materials for Grades 1 and 7 rolled out last year needed to be distributed as soon as possible. 鈥淲e felt that was the best strategy to ensure that the teachers, our students had the adequate learning resources.鈥�
While Uy acknowledged that the DepEd 鈥渕ight have missed out on certain things鈥� in the distributed materials and said this was why it had opened its lines for feedback and comments from the field.
Learning package
Uy, however, said he had not heard of a letter from Antonio Calipjo Go, the academic supervisor of Marian School of Quezon City and self-designated textbook crusader, who said he had found 658 errors in the 172-page 鈥淟earning Package for Grade 7 English, First and Second Quarters.鈥�
Go said he sent letters to Education Secretary Armin Luistro and other DepEd officials, but had not received a response. Luistro last year called on Go in his office and asked him to help in straightening out the textbooks.
鈥淚f Mr. Go did reach out to Secretary (Luistro), he鈥檚 aware 鈥� he鈥檚 more than aware of it. But I don鈥檛 know what the follow-through was,鈥� Uy said.
He said that last year, Luistro told him that the DepEd was working with Go in several areas related to K to 12.
鈥淚f he wrote to the secretary 鈥� then I鈥檒l get it and we can feed it back to the people who are developing the very resources,鈥� he said.
Uy said the DepEd had received feedback, not just from Go, but from others as well. Comments will be considered when the 鈥渇ull K to 12 curriculum standards鈥� are hammered out in November, he said. The collated reports on 鈥済laring mistakes鈥� would be verified and advisories would be sent out all around, Uy said.
The printing of the corrected materials, though, can be done for the next school year. 鈥淪o from a cost standpoint, it鈥檚 cheaper if we issue advisories,鈥� he said.
Monitoring and evaluation are an 鈥渋terative process鈥� done annually, he said, adding that the teaching material needs to 鈥渆volve with succeeding implementations.鈥�
The learning resources should 鈥済et better through the years,鈥� he said.
Supplementary
Go has also said error-filled old titles remained in use.
鈥淚f we were relying solely on that one textbook, that鈥檚 probably valid. But we鈥檙e not,鈥� Uy said.
The 鈥渙ld鈥� books, he said, were only 鈥渟upplementary鈥� and were used to 鈥渆nrich the discussion in classrooms.鈥�
鈥淭he textbooks that are already in schools are existing reference materials 鈥� . But the new pedagogies are embedded in the new curriculum, and that鈥檚 why there should be new learning resources,鈥� Uy said.
He denied Go鈥檚 criticism that the K to 12 program had not been pilot-tested.
The mother tongue-based multilingual education, for example, he said, was piloted in 900 schools across the country before it was implemented in the last school year.
Uy said 282 technical vocational high schools had served as 鈥渓aboratory鈥� to determine their relevance in the new program.
鈥淪o what K to 12 does is formalize a lot of the different insights and experiences in the past years. That doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 perfect, there are really things that need to be changed and improved. But the new curriculum, resources, they take into account what we learned in the past years,鈥� he said.