Robredo to forward teachers’ concerns to DepEd as school opening nears

Vice President Leni Robredo is set to forward to the Department of Education (DepEd) teachers' concerns on blended learning ahead of the opening of classes on August 24.

In her weekly radio show on Sunday, Robredo said she spoke with a group of teachers from across the country who said they were not yet prepared for the new school year.

“This week siguro, or Monday or Tuesday ipapadala ko sa DepEd iyong gist ng aming pinag-usapan… Susubukan ko rin na makipag-meet sa isang DepEd official about this,” she said.

Robredo pointed out that the woes of the teachers may have been borne out of poor communication.

She noted that some teachers still had no idea where to claim the learning modules as well as who will shoulder the printing costs.

“Nakita ko iyong sagot ng DepEd na ang modules daw ay naka-upload na sa internet,” Robredo said. “May [Education] undersecretary na nagsasabing nagbaba na actually sila, parang P9 billion for this [printing costs], so baka may lost in translation sila. Hindi alam ng teachers how to go about it.”

“Kung iyong hinihiling nila na ibigay na, baka iyong pagkukulang nga iyong communication. So hinihiling natin from DepEd Central na siguraduhin na naka-cascade sa pinakababa iyong binababa nila sa mga region at saka mga divisions,” she added.

The Vice President also echoed the teachers’ call for COVID-19 testing and regular medical check-ups to protect them amid the pandemic.

“Humihiling sila na siguraduhin lang na habang nagre-render sila ng service, protektado. Tapos iyong sa kanila din, iyong pakiusap na sana hindi sila i-require na nagha-house visits kasi ang laki din ng risk. Ang laki ng risk sa kanila,” she said.

DepEd earlier maintained that school year 2020-2021 will open on August 24 despite a new law allowing the president to move the opening date beyond schedule. 

The department also said that some 22.6 million students have already enrolled despite the pandemic.  — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News