DepEd not claiming success of blended learning, says Briones

Two days into School Year 2020-2021, the Department of Education (DepEd) is not keen on claiming that blending learning — the modality that is being implemented nationwide for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is a success.

At a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said they will monitor the system and come up with a "formal assessment" before the end of the year.

"We are not claiming success of blended learning, which is a learning modality older than I am, where various techniques are utilized," Briones said, adding even teachers nearing retirement are familiar with blended learning.

"Right now, we are monitoring whatever is happening, pero iba 'yung assessment. In a month or two, before the end of the year or even earlier, we will have a formal assessment," she added.

Briones vowed that they will resolve problems "as they come."

"We don't wait for the end of a particular period," she said.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier said there would be no face-to-face classes until a vaccine against COVID-19 is locally available.

DepEd is implementing the blended learning approach this school year through the use of modules that are either printed or digitized, online learning, and television or radio-based instruction.

The school year was supposed to start in August but was moved to October to allow DepEd to address "logistical limitations" faced by areas that were then placed under modified enhanced community quarantine.

Amid the pandemic, some groups have called for the suspension of the school year, but the government said this would be against the Constitution. —KBK, GMA News