DepEd Looks Into Lessons Via TV and Radio for School Year 2020-2021

With schools closed and social distancing imposed, students in some areas of the country might have to get their lessons via television and radio if the COVID-19 situation persists, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on April 20, 2020.

As the school year 2019 to 2020 comes to a close, DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said in an interview on DZMM that opening school year 2020 to 2021 "does not mean necessarily that students will be coming to school."

Malalauan said that the DepEd is looking into information and communication technology (ICT), such as DepEd Commons, along with television and radio as a means to continue lessons for some students.

DepEd Commons is a resource website launched by the Education Department last March 2020. It's an online platform where public school teachers and parents can get free educational materials for kids in kindergarten up to Grade 10. It allowed some students to continue learning at home after the quarantine took effect.

Classes usually start in the first week of June, but because of the spread of COVID-19, DepEd is still studying how students can best learn without physically going to school. The agency has until the end of August to decide on the start date for the incoming school year.

At the moment, DepEd is doing research for the Learning Continuity Plan, which details school activities and forms of instruction "not necessarily in the context of a classroom situation," Malalauan said.

According to Malaluan, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones will make an announcement "no later than this week" regarding the opening of classes. The DepEd Facebook page has also posted an online survey that learners, teachers, and parents or guardians can answer to help the agency decide on the date.

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