155 errors in learning materials seen since October 2020 — DepEd
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education on Monday bared that 155 errors were seen in students' learning materials since classes amid the pandemic began last year, including a vulgar description of the Filipino folk creature "Aswang."
Officials earlier today were at a hearing of the House committee on public accounts after the Commission on Audit flagged errors in DepEd's learning resources.
Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said they received 163 reports but validation yielded 155 errors from October 2020 to June this year.
Per his figures, that would mean: 104 errors from locally developed materials, 25 from materials reviewed by DepEd Central Office, 19 from unknown sources, five from DepEd TV episodes, and one each from an art material by private publishers and from a DepEd textbook.
The curriculum and instructions chief said they leave it to regional, division or school offices to issue errata on materials that were locally developed.
Those with unknown sources, San Antonio said, are materials that they could no longer identify where it came from.
"It's disappointing," said Rep. Sharon Garin (AAMBIS-OWA Party-list). "155 is substantial and as a committee, it has to be like what did we do to correct this and not let this happen again?"
Vetting process
DepEd in October last year launched its "Error Watch" that aimed to collect reports of errors in its resources. It came as officials admitted then that the agency too is still adjusting to the new learning setup.
San Antonio sought to explain before lawmakers their mechanism for verifying errors, with teams trained to identify such.
By second half of the year, he said DepEd tapped academic reviewers from the Philippine Normal University as third party evaluators.
Its aim, he added, is for a "final look" after going through reviews by the Central Office, regional and division offices and specialists for quality assurance.
"We do not disown true errors and we work on issuing errata," San Antonio said in Filipino. "We don't stop and admit that our process should continuously be improved."
Module with 'Aswang' recalled
In the same hearing, educator Antonio Calipjo Go presented a printed module from Mabalacat in Pampanga, where a lewd word was used to describe the mythical creature aswang.
The material in question read that it is up at night and looking for someone to "ma-aswang" or engage in sexual intercourse.
LOOK: Educator Antonio Calipjo Go shows a self-learning module allegedly being used in a school in Mabalacat, Pampanga, Filipino Grade 10. It defines the word "aswang." | via @mariannenriquez for @onenewsph pic.twitter.com/AcaY3spfJq
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) June 14, 2021
Go said it was brought to him by three parents of students studying in the province.
DepEd officials said the module has been recalled, and was part of the errors they reported. San Antonio said the division office concerned had since sought to correct it.
"The instruction superintendent has notified that the content of the learning activity sheet was wrong," he added. "Like Mr. Go, I'm not happy too that these things still happen."
Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs Antonio Umali said upon checking, the module was used for Grade 10 during the fourth week of the second quarter.
He said too that an internal resolution is underway and hold responsible those in charge for the mistake despite a vetting process in place.
Classes in K-12 schools in the Philippines officially end by July 10. Errors in learning resources are only part of the many difficulties identified by groups from the present setup, along with access to internet and gadget availability, which they said are already taking a toll on students and teachers' wellbeing.
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