September 20, 2021 – The Department of Education assured the public that around 26 million enrolled learners will receive enhanced quality self-learning modules (SLMs) for School Year 2021-2022.

“Marami tayong adjustments at talaga pong ang purpose natin ay mas maging mabuti ang kalidad ng mga self-learning materials,” Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio said during the National School Day Opening program on September 13.

Usec. San Antonio emphasized the improvements made in the quality assurance process of the Department for the learning resources as early as January this year. DepEd also collaborated with the Philippine Normal University to assist in checking the materials.

The Bureau of Learning Delivery (BLD) also prioritized the SLM Enhancement, which aimed to generate improved versions of the materials and provide teachers with support through Notes to Teachers.

“At ang ginawa po nating paraan para masiguro na better version ng self-learning modules ang gagawin ng mga bata, nagsagawa po tayo ng 2nd round ng quality assurance sa mga self-learning modules na ito at pumapayag pa rin po tayo ng combination ng Central office and locally-quality assured na learning materials,” he added.

The Curriculum and Instruction head credited the upgraded vetting process as the Department monitored lesser error reports in SLMs from January to July this year compared to the more than 100 validated errors during the first three months of classes in October to December 2020.

Usec. San Antonio also noted that the quality-assured modules are already converted into different formats and are used as the basis for the DepEd TV and the DepEd radio-based instruction.

Despite using SLMs for this school year, San Antonio underscored that regional directors are conducting efforts to gradually migrate from being dependent on printed SLMs to technology-based learning by maximizing the use of gadgets.

Moreover, the public can still report erroneous SLMs through the DepEd Error Watch, an initiative launched in October 2020 to address the issue.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said that the current school year would not be a repeat of last year as the Department had learned and adjusted to the new normal in education.

“I’d like to assure everyone that this will not be a repeat of last year because events don’t necessarily repeat themselves,” she said.

She also added that the only similarity from last year is the unpredictability and uncertainty of what will happen next due to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

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