On Sunday, vice president Leni Robredo said the Department of Education (DepEd) should consider giving gadgets to learners, citing the risks and challenges the teachers are facing in printing and delivering the modules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On her weekly radio show, Robredo pushed providing gadgets for students as a more sustainable learning tool for remote learning.
“Mas hindi siya magastos in the sense na wala iyong pang-araw-araw na printing. Ano siya, environment-friendly,” she said.
(It is less expensive because there is no need to pay for the daily printing costs. It is environment-friendly.)
Robredo said some teachers are not yet done printing the learning modules and delivering them a day before the school opened today, October 5.
Also read: DepEd calls on parents not to answer modules
Leni Robredo: Gadgets more sustainable than printed modules
“Ang problema ng modular, sobrang pagod sa teachers. Hindi lang sobrang pagod, sobrang magastos kasi ang dami mong ipi-print. Dadalhin mo sa mga bahay ng estudyante tapos magpi-pick-up, ikaw,” Leni Robredo said.
(The problem with modular, it is very tiring for teachers. This is not only tiring, but also costly because you have to print a lot of modules. You have to deliver them to the houses of students, then you have to pick them up yourself.)
Robredo noted it would be better for DepEd to ”give students gadgets in the long run instead of printing the modules for them daily.”
Before starting classes, Office of the Vice President (OVP) Leni Robredo, in partnership with private companies, gave 220 free tablet computers to students from public schools.
Don Mariano Marcos Elementary School and Loakan Elementary School in Baguio City; Yagyagan Elementary School in Benguet; and Madapdap High School and Sitio Target Integrated School in Pampanga were among the project’s beneficiaries.
The office of VP Leni Robredo also initiated the Bayanihan E-skwela program for the gadget donation drive, which establishes learning hubs in communities. The facilities offer internet access and learning video series on distance learning for teachers and parents.
DepEd Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said Saturday public schools are ready for the opening of classes today.