COVID-19 pandemic has affected the education system as it has affected all other areas of life in the VUCA world. Since education should always be one of the top priorities of the government and of the society, despite the present condition, DepEd is guided with the declaration of the Honorable Secretary, Leonor Magtolis Briones, that, surely, “Education Must Continue”. Indeed, the issuance of DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2020 School Calendar and Activities for School Year 2020-2021 and Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan, translate the commitment of DepEd to ensure educational continuity amid the crisis with utmost consideration on the health and safety of the learners and the entire school communities.
The declaration of national health crisis posed a test for the previous school year. The sudden pivot from face-to-face learning to distance learning at the start of the pandemic, faced immense challenges to the school principals, teachers, parents & most especially to our learners. On the first month of distance learning based on some feedback forms gathered, interviews and the observations made, the critical issue was to create an interaction between students and teachers and to provide psychological and academic guidance since most of our students had no gadgets like cellphones, laptops and internet connections. Aside from the fact that most of our students were left alone to study because their parents need to work to provide them with their needs. If ever they have their parents with them, the problem still exists because some parents were incapable of teaching their children.
Other challenges we encountered were the numerous activities for each learning areas in the modules coming from the National aside from comprehension on instructions although they are stated on the modules and on the Weekly Home Learning Plan given to the pupils but still, they were confused. Aside from that, some of the lessons specially in primary were not suitable to children’s level of understanding that’s why we are uncertain if our pupils were the one who answers the modules or whether they understand the lessons. There were also parents who told us about their concerns on their difficulty on teaching beginning reading since they don’t have a training on this. In addition to that, there was also insufficiency on the number of modules given to our school.
However, with the continuation of distance learning for the second year, our school together with internal and external key stakeholders enhanced the previous Learning Continuity Plan by including programs, projects and activities which would serve as add- on to the teaching-learning process, complemented by provision of support on health and wellness and targeting optimal professional growth. This was done with the strong partnerships with stakeholders’ conscious effort.
The process of analyzing the organization’s external and internal environment (Strength/ Weaknesses/ Opportunities/ Strength) has given the school a vivid picture of the results of previous year’s implementation and the needed adjustments to be prepared for SY 2021 -2022. It helped us also to identify the strategic options with the externally TOWS-focused Matrix. These strategic options guided by the Division Strategic directions, DepEd Vision, Mission and Core Values encapsulated the outcomes as to Access, Quality and Governance.
With the future remaining uncertain due to the rise of advanced technologies and the presence of COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones cited Sulong EduKalidad program as the DepEd’s move to innovate Philippine education in response to a ‘world drastically changing.’ With the four (4) aggressive reforms in education of this program, our school has aligned its lessons learned with KITE, namely: K- K to 12 Curriculum and Update; I – Improving the learning environment; T – Teachers’ Upskilling and Reskilling; E – Engagement of stakeholders for support and collaboration to thrive through the VUCA world.
By: Rufina E. Ramos|School Principal IV|Balanga Elementary School|Balanga City, Bataan
