Inside Page | Fernan A. Gianan:

Classes begin anew but will learners improve?

Pursuant to the Implementing Guidelines issued by the Department of Education (DepEd), school year 2024-2025 begins on Monday, July 29, 2024 and ends on Tuesday, April 15, 2024.

The five-day midyear school break is on November 25 to 29, 2024, with the teachers to undergo a three-day INSET training and dedicate the remaining two days to a midyear performance review and evaluation.

On the other hand, the Christmas break begins on Saturday, December 21, 2024 and end on January 1, 2025, with classes to resume the next day, January 2, a Thursday.

As of July 22, 2024, the DepEd said the total enrollment in Catanduanes is about 60,000, including those covered by the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for out-of-school individuals, with the number set to rise by the end of the enrollment period this Friday, July 26.

In-person learning shall remain the primary learning delivery modality, DepEd said, with private schools given the option to continue five days of in-person classes or the Blended Learning Delivery Modality (3 days in-person and two days of distance learning or four days of in-person and one day of distance learning).

In the event of the suspension or cancellation of classes due to disasters or emergencies, all schools will transition to BLDM to ensure the safety of learners, teachers and non-teaching personnel.

Aside from the usual national assessment of students like the National Achievement Test (NAT) and the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE), DepEd will also administer formative and summative assessments including the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil IRI) Test, Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), Rapid Math Assessment (RMA) and the National Learning Camp Assessment (NLCA).

The NLCA results shall be used to classify learners into various camps or groups for the National Learning Camp program the following summer.

*****

Last week, at the conclusion of this year’s National Learning Camp,  the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) stated that while the program is good, it has not met its intended goals.

Launched through DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2023, the NLC is one of the initiatives under the National Learning Recovery Program (NLRP).

The camps cover Grades 1 to 3 and Grades 7 to 10 and are structured into three groups to address learners’ needs: intervention (for those who failed in English, Science, and Math), consolidation (for review and reinforcement), and enhancement (for advanced learners).

EDCOM 2 site visits showed that students attending the intervention camp “were not only catching up for proficiencies at their current grade level but were also lacking proficiencies from earlier grade levels.”

It recommended the specific targeting of learners, which will be addressed by DepEd through the NLCA/

EDCOM 2 also called for DepEd to make the remediation mandatory, noting that the voluntary participation in the learning camp showed some learners who were supposed to attend did not participate.

*****

THE DEAN’S CHOICE. At a university there was a dean who cared about others and showed exemplary behavior. One day an angel appeared at a faculty conference.

The angel said as a reward for his good deeds that God would give him his choice of eternal riches, eternal wisdom, or eternal beauty.

The dean chose eternal wisdom without hesitation.

“Good,” said the angel, disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Everyone present turned their gazes to the dean, who was illuminated by a faint halo.

A colleague whispered, “Tell me something.”

The dean, who had gained eternal wisdom, sighed and said, “I should have chosen eternal riches.”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Catanduanes Tribune

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading