Teachers’ group slams DepEd’s claim that 93% of schools equipped for online learning

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Thursday slammed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) claim that 93 percent of public schools nationwide are equipped with devices for online learning.

Earlier, DepEd director for Information and Communications Technology Service Abram Abail said a total of 1,042,575 devices have been distributed to 43,948 public schools, which comprise 93 percent of all public schools nationwide.

In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, ACT secretary general Raymond Basilio said this data hides the fact that the available computers in public schools are already outdated, no longer functional, or cannot be utilized for online learning.

“Kami po ay nagulat doon sa deklarasyon ng DepEd and in fact, doon sa aming monitoring ay ganoon din ang reaksyon ng mga teachers na bakit 7 percent lang ba kami ng buong populasyon ng DepEd at na ‘di po namin nakikita ang computers na sinasabi nila,” Basilio said.

“Ang isa sa nakikita naming parang ginawa ng DepEd ay ni-lump nila ‘yong lahat ng computers na kanilang binili simula noong kaniyang computerization program noong early 2000s hanggang sa kasalukuyan. Sabi ng mga teachers may mga computers nga sila pero nasa bodega kasi hindi na ito gumagana… Hindi na po siya nagagamit para sa purpose ng online learning,” he added.

Basilio also pointed out that there is no internet connection in public schools.

With classes set to open on October 5, he said, 60 percent of the modules are yet to be printed.

“Hindi naman po maaari na maghiraman ng modules ang mga bata… Kailangan one student, one module, kasi made-defeat ang purpose ng blended learning na walang interaction ang mga bata,” he said.

He also urged the DepEd to not conceal the fact that there is a shortage of devices.

“‘Wag natin pagtakpan ang kakulangan kasi ang mamomroblema po dito ang mga guro at estudyante. At the end of the day, kaming mga guro ang mapipilitang humanap ng mga remedyo para matawid ‘yong aming responsibilidad na makapagbigay ng edukasyon sa kabataan,” Basilio said.

“Sana magtulungan ng maayos, ‘yon po ang aming pinupunto,” he added.

As of Monday, over 23.6 million students have enrolled for the upcoming School Year 2020-2021.

The opening of classes was earlier moved from the original date of August 24 to October 5 after President Rodrigo Duterte approved DepEd’s recommendation. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News