March 6, 2021 — To foster harmony throughout the Department of Education (DepEd) in the implementation of Basic Education- Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua spearheaded the conduct of the week-long Strand Interface on Programs and Guidelines (SIPAG) Conference 2021.

The conference discussed concerns and challenges faced by DepEd personnel in the past year due to the pandemic and the rollout of programs for the incoming transition once the vaccination starts in the education sector.

Conducted from February 22 to March 3, 2021, the week-long conference garnered 2,575,176 website views, 1,211,000 views on Facebook live, 111,626 Facebook group members, and 109,900 Zoom participants.

“There is a great need to provide synchronized instructions to field implementers. We need to understand our role in the BE-LCP implementation, which is a vast undertaking. We would also like to issue a call for united efforts in addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones said.

“We only have one year and we can only achieve our programs, our projects, and activities if we harmonize, if we work together, if each of us, each unit, each individual contributes to the sustainment of the said projects,” she added.

Other Executive Committee members also presented various policy and program updates under their respective strands, including the financial report on the Bayanihan Act II and its support to the BE-LCP projects, creation of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) and Child Rights in Education Desk (CREDe), enrollment, partnerships and projects updates.

“Ang mahalagang tunguhin ng session na ito ay maipaliwanag ang mga programa na isasakatuparan ng bawat opisina ng Admin Strand. Papaano masasakatuparan ang mga proyektong ito, how do we effectively execute these programs, and how do we monitor their implementation,” Usec. Pascua said.

SIPAG 2021 also discussed the strand programs developed under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2021, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last December 2020. The GAA increased the teaching and connectivity allowances of public school teachers as an added assistance during the pandemic.

With the success of the event, the OUA is encouraging participants to view and share the various resources gathered and developed during the activity. DepEd officials, field coordinators, principals, school heads, and teachers may access them through:

 

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