15/06/2022
15 June 2022
Press Statement
ACT QUESTIONS ABRUPT, ARBITRARY ORDER FOR ENRICHMENT CLASSES
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines today questioned the abrupt and arbitrary order of the Department of Education (DepEd) issued just two weeks before the end of the school year, instructing for the holding of enrichment classes for Grade 1 to 11 students who got a grade of 75 to 79,.
"Was this move even consulted with experts, school administrators, teachers, parents and even students? While attending enrichment class is voluntary, all of a sudden, parents are confronted with the dilemma of possible additional expenses for the prolonged school days for their children, while teachers are anxious if their period of rest will be disrupted by this hasty order,” said Vladimer Quetua, spokesperson of ACT Philippines.
“Biglaan at hindi lapat sa lupa ang patakarang ito. Hindi handa kapwa ang mga estudyante at g**o para dito. Ang malamang na mangyari, hindi magboboluntaryo ang mga estudyante na pumasok sa enrichment class o di kaya’y lilikha ito ng artipisyal na pagtaas sa mga grado para maiwasan ang patakaran. Kung kaya wala itong saysay, bagkus ay lumilikha lamang ng di-kinakailangang kalituhan at pagkabalisa sa lahat,” Quetua explained.
Quetua questioned even the effectiveness of the measure in serving its claimed purpose of addressing the learning gaps brought about by the sudden shift in learning modalities due to the pandemic.
"Napakalaki ng problema ng learning crisis at hindi naman masosolusyunan ang mga learning gaps na ito ng kautusan na ineengganyo ang mga estudyante na magklase pa ng dagdag na 2 linggo. Malinaw na band aid solution lamang ito at pahirap pa sa mga g**o at estudyante na wala namang tiyak na makabuluhang resulta" he added.
Quetua demanded for the scrapping of the said order and called on Deped to roll-out a comprehensive and evidence-based program to address the learning crisis in the coming school year.
"It would be best for the Department of Education to start this by assessing the students to concretely see and understand theb nature and extent of the learning crisis. From here, necessary measures and adjustments in the curriculum and pedagogy must be done to address the learning gaps that are observed across the student population, while special intervention measures can be crafted to assist learners who are lagging behind,” ended Quetua. #
