The Department of Education reminded teachers that there is no urgent need to buy electronic gadgets in preparation for the upcoming school year (SY).
“The beauty of our approach is that we have options available for everyone. Hindi lamang para sa may laptop, o may cellphone ang bagong school year,” DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua said in a statement on Tuesday
Nonetheless, DepEd acknowledges the importance of having “the right equipment for the task at hand,” aiming to provide public school teachers with the proper equipment.
“As early as April, [DepEd’s] Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA) has released a [memorandum] allowing School Heads to release or lend equipment to its teachers, … such as Desktop Computers, Laptops, Tablet PCs, and Smartphones from their schools for use during the pandemic and in preparation for SY 2020-2021,” the statement explained.
The education sector also prescribed another set of guidelines for select learners, prioritizing learners with disabilities “who wish to borrow equipment from the school, … subject to the approval of the School Head.”
The Digital Rise Program, which intends to support the implementation of the technological skill in students aims to “[provide] all schools with the appropriate IT equipment, including providing laptops for all public school teachers.”
“How can we expect [teachers] to teach our learners about technology, when they do not have the right equipment to do so? We are now trying to fast track our Digital Rise Program, in line with the President’s direction to move towards online and digital learning,” Pascua explained.
The Education department decided last May to set the opening of the SY 2020-2021 on August 24, 2020. Francis David T. Perez