Department of Education Regional Director -Central Visayas Salustiano Jimenez. (PNA File Photo)
CEBU CITY – The top education official here on Tuesday said learners in Central Visayas are now in the recovery stage in terms of their learning and reading abilities.
Salustiano Jimenez, regional director of the Department of Education-Central Visayas (DepEd-7), observed that the reading ability of the learners in Grade 1 is at par with that of those who are in Grades 2 and 3, citing the “negative impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.”
“As mentioned, (it was) because of the pandemic, two years that we didn’t have contacts. We rely on modules. In reading, we really need teachers’ interaction with the learners,” Jimenez said during the Open Line forum here.
During the pandemic, he said learners did not have enough teacher-supervised reading sessions, as lessons were being relied to the parents and guardians who did not have the skills to teach reading and comprehension.
Jimenez cited the programs of Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte like the special remedial classes to pupils who need special attention in reading and comprehension as well as the National Learning Camp, a fun-filled activity that focuses on reading especially to K-1 to K-3 stages.
Meanwhile, Jimenez urged parents to enroll their children early and refrain from enrolling them when classes start so that they can submit data to DepEd Central Office that is complete and relevant for budgetary purposes.
“Every after the date of the last enrolment, we will submit right away the data of enrollees. That data is crucial. That is the factor to be considered if our region needs additional classrooms, additional teachers, and additional chairs,” Jimenez said.
He also assured parents that public schools now have quality-assurance procedures for learning materials to be distributed to the learners to avoid a repeat of the proliferation of erroneous reading modules during the pandemic.
“We can’t guarantee that it’s error-proof, especially those that are prepared by the teachers. But we are having quality assurance check on the materials,” he added.
The education official also assured the parents there will be enough teachers in the upcoming opening of classes on Aug. 29, saying that while many skilled and well-trained teachers are going abroad, they have a lot of applicants in the line to replace them.
The DepEd, he said, will spend more on training intended to upscale the teaching abilities of the newly-hired teachers. (PNA)
