Photo from MBHTE-BARMM FB page
COTABATO CITY – Education officials in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are keen on carrying out the distance education program or online learning for the school year 2020-2021.
This was bared by lawyer Haron Meling, the chief of staff of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE-BARMM), in an interview by Philippine News Agency on Saturday.
He said the response came about after a series of deliberations conducted by key officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) on the setting up of the “new normal” in the educational system.
"The consultation is ongoing for the committee to deliberate the most convenient alternative schooling methods applicable for various areas in the country, such as the distance education," Meling said.
He added that during the earlier part of March, five sessions of management committee teleconference of DepEd took place wherein the Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) was underscored.
"LCP is one of the alternative educational methods among all others designed for every student, including those coming from the rural areas," Meling said.
In a statement, DepEd said “LCP includes key features on K-12 curriculum adjustments; alignment of learning materials; various modalities of delivery; and corresponding teacher and parent/guardian training for homeschooling.”
Meling said that since some remote areas of BARMM do not have good internet services to support the class, the committee is pushing forward to make the class files downloadable or ready-to-print for the students.
On May 8, Meling said MBHTE–BARMM Minister Mohagher Iqbal also conducted an LCP survey meeting with the schools' division superintendents of Maguindanao 1 and 2, and other schools district supervisors pursuant to the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) LCP national survey activity.
The meeting was a prelude to efforts undertaken by the office in adjusting to the new state of the Philippine educational system amid the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis.
Aside from Maguindanao, the same LCP survey will be conducted soon in other BARMM province-components of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
“The MBHTE-BARMM will be leaning towards this (direction) come August 24 for the start of the new school year, and set to end in April 2021,” Meling said in quoting DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones. (PNA)
