After drawing flak on social media, the Department of Education (DepEd) has apologized for another scandalous distance learning module describing actress Angel Locsin as an “obese person.”
The viral photo of a music, arts, physical education, and health (MAPEH) module was from DepEd-Occidental Mindoro.
The situation in the module states:
“Angel Locsin is an obese person. She, together with Coco Martin, eats fatty and sweet food in Mang Inasal fast food restaurant most of the time. In her house, she always watching television (sic) and does not have any physical activities.”
The module then asks students what could possibly happen to Angel Locsin if she “continues her lifestyle.”
“Upon initial investigation, this office found out that the said material is not contained in the self-learning module (SLM) developed and quality assured by the DepEd Central Office. The said material is a teacher-made assessment for a Grade 10 MAPEH class purposely to measure specific competencies of the learning area,” DepEd-Occidental Mindoro said in an official statement.
The DepEd Central Office is responsible for conducting quality assurance (QA) of all learning materials. But when classes began on October 5, QA was still unfinished, and the schools were entrusted to do their own quality assurance.
“We would like to express our sincerest apology to the concerned individuals which may have been offended or harmed by this incident. The Department of Education does not tolerate nor condone any act of body shaming, ad hominem, or any similar act of bullying both in the physical and virtual environments,” the statement read.
More than the body-shaming issue, netizens also noticed some grammatical errors in English questions, as well as wrong solutions in math problems.
In October, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones confidently said that they are ready for the new school year despite the current onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We declare our victory over COVID 19–the Destroyer of our lives and Destroyer of our economy and of our society. But we will not allow COVID-19 to destroy our children’s education and their future,” she said.
“Today, we open our schools. Today, we claim victory over the destroyer (COVID 19). Let our classes begin!” the DepEd Secretary added. RJ Espartinez