November 3, 2020

Dr. MAE ECLAR

Regional Director

Department of Education

Cordillera Administrative Region

and

Dr. FEDERICO MARTIN

Schools Division Superintendent

Mountain Province Division-DepEd

Through

Mr Khad Layad

Chief Education Supervisor

DepEd Mountain Province

Madame/Sirs;

Forwarding to you comments and recommendations concerning self-learning modules distributed to pupils and students by the Department of Education for your appropriate action as contained in this Petition-Letter:

Urging the Department of Education to consider comments and recommendations on the implementation of modular education during this Covid-19 pandemic

We appreciate much your response be forwarded to Sagada Reports Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/896645804086499

SAGADA, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE - While the use of modules was the most preferred method of learning in these times of Covid pandemic, little did the parents and students know that it’s going to be stressful for them.

Parents’ teaching children vs a vs their lack of capacity, taking time off from regular work, more time to answer modules, errors in modules are among major woes parents have encountered in modules distributed by the Department of Education for children to answer the past month this school year.

Comments from parents here at social media particularly Sagada Reports Facebook Group noted these as they forwarded recommendations including the review of modules before these are distributed, making of textbooks, limited face to face learning to suspension of classes during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Parents turned teachers

Parents becoming teachers is a major issue with them not trained to be teachers nor educated to have reached college but are teaching their children anyway where face to face learning is prevented at this times of Covid-19 pandemic.

“Yung teaching pinasa na sa mga magulang na hindi naman graduate ng teaching profession. Hindi naman sila nag aral ng methods of teaching. So what happen.Both the parents and students get stressed and depressed. May nakita akong module ng Kinder 1. Paano babasahin ng bata yun eh di pa nga marunong ng ABCD. Pati ba Math, Science, ang magulang magtuturo? Ok lng sa college ang self study but not from K1 to Grade 12” forwarded a netizen-parent Jhorie Mhar Conz.

The woes of teaching Kinder and Grade 1 pupils most especially is a commonly felt issue where children still in their young ages do not know how to read and write.

Teaching being left to parents encounters a common remark as this from a Grade I pupil saying "baken ka met maam’ (you are not maam) to her or his mother.

Taking time off from work

Parents here in Mountain Province with a population of 154,814 as per records from the Department of Health (2018) are either farmers, vendors, weavers, business people and a few employed in government as staff, teachers, officers and other positions in various professions.

This means parents have to take time off from their daily grind of working in the fields, from their weaving looms, from their stalls, from office and from time to time aid their children by their side help on the modules while they attend to their work.

“Ang mga housewives na imbes maghanap buhay ay nakatutok sa pagaaral ng mga bata. Yung teacher, tuloy tuloy yung sweldo after distribution ng modules samantalang yung parents hindi na makapag hanap buhay. Yung mahirap, lalong maghihirap,” added Jhorie Mhar Conz.

Yet, that is how modular education is done. Parents are the teachers and lucky if the parent is educated herself. And what if not. Parents too who have to work in the fields to get a living have to either sacrifice their working time and aid their children answer modules or find time after coming home tired from work.

Padi Richard Egmalis says “And it does not help for some teachers to say "Good so that parents will also experience how difficult it is to teach". Such comments albeit (maybe?) said in jest do not give any positive outcome at all.”

More time to submit modules

And it’s not only parents lack of capacity to teach or taking time off from work that bugs parents.

Submitting a week’s module every Friday tells common complaint of parents to give more time to answer eight modules for a week’s duration. This predicament is complicated with lack of gadgets and internet access to answer self- learning modular questions.

Good if gadgets and internet is available and accessible. What if not.

Chevonne, a Grade 5 pupil says she learned something from answering modules. Her mother who is a college graduate and a businesswoman aids her. Chevonne also googles from the internet to answer questions and with a classmate they confer with each other.

Gwen Gaongen a businesswoman who works on job order with government said her Grade 7 son googles answers from the internet and has a chat group with classmates where they help each other in answering questions.

Another parent who has difficulty accessing the internet just let it pass whether the child learned something or not or whether questions were answered correctly saying ‘bahala na’.

With parents’ lack of capacity to teach, lack of home computers and internet access, parents submit their children’s modules anyway to respective barangays eventually submitted to respective schools concerned.

Review modules

What more, erroneous modules such as gender insensitive content and wrong concepts are some subject matter of modules distributed by DepEd which has gained unpopular disapproval. While some modules are distributed by DepEd central office, some are done by teachers from respective DepEd divisions.

A most harped module describes Igorots as "kulot and buhok and maitim ang balat’.

‘But if these modules are referring to us Igorots should describe us correctly”, one commented.

Netizen Jenny Nanglihan from Ifugao and a mother of aGrade 6 pupil noted some grammatical errors and in content in a technology and livelihood subject module.

Too, Gwen Gaongen noted a module reinforcing discrimination in women describing “women as weak, emotional, domestic while the male is strong, stable and a provider.”

Gaongen who also heads the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of Sagada Central School asked teachers if they are required to review or even answer modules before distribution to pupils.

Nellie Capuyan-Ballola, a freelance consultant recommends that a team or volunteers review modules before these are distributed to pupils and students.

Textbooks instead

High school Principal Patrick Pooten noted teachers have enough time to read the modules of their class before distribution especially in high school. Because modules are of one time-use, “better yet to reproduce sections of particular textbooks for these to be used by teachers”, he said.

Netizen and grandparent Em Sana said, "It will take time to learn how a parent can teach the modules having limited discussions of the subject matter. Why not give out books for students to read".

Too, netizen Daisy Delwasen Saydab seconded saying “nu nan libro et komay nang ipay an das badget ta baken mudule idwani kasin da men dawdawat s budget ay pang module kasin idwani” (they should have used the budget for textbooks instead of modules and now they are asking budget for modules again).

And that would be for particular textbooks in particular locations where such is the case in contextualized education which is a thrust of DepEd to do.

Netizen Yo Li comments," kung sana dinownload din ang pondo for module preparation sa mga regions at provinces para sila na ang naghire ng mga local professionals na gumawa ng module ay baka mas maganda ang output dahil contextualized"

Fund for modules

With P985 million allotted for modules for the regional DepEd office poses the question if some of this amount can be used for textbook learning materials aside or instead of modules.

The regional DEpEd reported donations came from provincial and municipal government units, school maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), private donors, IPED (Indigenous Peoples) funds, and from the central office of the DepEd.

The DepEd central office downloaded P253,102,000 while the local government units’ share amounted to P685,329,804.The other amount came from other sources. Some of the pledges of LGUs have yet to be received as their procurement still has to go through government processes.

Mountain Province DepEd forwarded P415.2 million financial need for modules registering the highest amount among the six provinces and two cities of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Abra province need P60.4 million for the printing of the materials; Apayao needs P156.38 million; Baguio City requires P39.77 million; Benguet, P167.9 million; Ifugao, P98.2 million; Kalinga, P20 million and Tabuk City, P28 million.

And with the attractive hard bound cover of modules recently distributed by DepEd has noted observations from the public with some noting the expense placed in the printing at a time when money is scarce at this times of Covid-19 pandemic.

Face to face learning

With all the woes modular education presents, face to face learning is a clamor instead. And with the situation now, at least restricted face to face learning once a week is recommended for children to meet their teachers and to ask questions on modules they have encountered.

Marcia Clemente who works with government forwarded the conduct of blended learning to help children learn.

Knowing the need for face to face teaching especially among primary grades led a private school here conduct scheduled classes in kinder school with a limited number of pupils per scheduled time.

Privately-conducted face to face tutorial classes among five children are also being done here to allow Grade 1 kids learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.

Mountain Province is a Covid- 19 low risk area.

It is also an inspiration that a public school Grade 6 teacher Helen Rose Omela from a public school in Mayoyao, Ifugao takes time to teach her student an hour and a half every Tuesday and even follows her to the fields to tutor her.

This while President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones that restricted face to face teaching is done in Covid low risk areas beginning January 2021.

That is just 60 days before the date but some schools and teachers are conducting restricted face to face learning now in low risk areas. And children are learning while staying healthy since September till now.

The rest of schooling among higher grades is done through the modular way for both higher elementary grades and high school.

Better suspend classes

Some parents commented that children are not learning anything. With no teacher to teach pupils and students in their lessons face to face, what do parents and children expect.

Elmo Patil-ao, a father of high school children and who works in a non- government organization (NGO) said, “Its better to just let the year pass rather than see the children not learning anything”.

A teacher, Ofelia Guintodan commented “Better stop tay aped kawas nan am-in,I still have to see a complete set of modules per grade level in K -6 tay enggana wani et mid nan enda kankanan en quality assured. Wada nan as in mang seseed magapo sinan opisina ay modules (dakkel met iman san budget na)ngem till now et egay umdan.Isaldeng na lang ta sumapo nan teachers is own modules da as ulay ngan di itsula na basta ma attain san objectives ay mang develop skills isnan kids. Sya met di nan importante. Ado ay teachers mangwani gepgepes nan men isulo tay sya met iman training da, not to make modules ay ulay daida et maligatan da mangsapo.”

(Better stop. I still have to see a set of modules per grade level in K-6 but up to now there are no quality assured modules yet. There are those who are still waiting for modules from the (central) office (with big budget) but up to now has not yet reached the students. Its better to stop to let teachers make their own modules designed to let pupils attain objectives to develop skills in them children which is important. And besides, many teachers say its better to teach and not make modules as they themselves have difficulty making these.)

Truly, DepEd Mountain Province Division has let its teachers make modules "at the last minute" when these did not arrive yet from DepEd central office a few days before the opening of classes October 5..

Netizen and businesswoman Fely Capuyan Omengan stated, "These modules are but a pain in the necks of both the pupils/students and the parents. Pati pay isnan bulsa tay apedet siyan ummayan amin di ulas da.( Answering modules takes time from working to get a living). Daet good for those who have wifi or net connections. And how many parents don't know how to use it if there was? Better to stop and let face to face learning be for next year".

But others say enrollment was opened by DepEd at this times of the Covid 19 pandemic, so to do the most of it. Some folks commented what children shall be doing at this times of the pandemic and teachers too who continue to receive their salaries if there is no module or blended education done.

Municipal local government officer of Sagada Municipality Raymundo Basco says “this emergency system in education already in place. It challenges the status quo, we have to adapt, respond and as much as possible contribute for its development. If not, then take the alternative, wait for the next school year to open.”

Mental health issues

Meantime, mental health issues bug modular education these pandemic times with the suicide of two high school students of Cotabato and Bohol over reported non-acceptance of their modules due to late submission. Reports also tell of suicide of two high school students in Davao due to alleged pressure and difficulty in learning modules; and another high school student in Albay who reportedly committed suicide due to alleged non-availability of gadget in online learning.

The Cordillera Administrative Region is no stranger to these sad incidents.

Vernie Yocogan Diano who works with a women non government organization (NGO) and who has a daughter enrolled at the Cordillera Regional Science High School commented, “when my daughter's classmate committed suicide a week ago, noted to be an outstanding student, I thought that should serve as wake-up call for the DepEd and the Commission on Higher education (CHED) not to serve as pressure cooker instead make this abnormal situation to develop modules which would help our children and the young prepare or process their mental health and wellbeing. The learning approach should be more empathetic and compassionate. It’s an abnormal situation that all are coping. What use is your education when it exacerbates rather than gives furlough for the depressed, confused, challenged to cope and what more? In this challenging time, families are looking more on their daily survival and adding their burden through irrelevant pressure cooker type education is just adding to inhumaneness.I have this as a prayer that I hope other parents and the community would also take as their prayer.”

Respectfully,