DepEd: National learning camp not just for students flunking classes

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education clarified Tuesday that its national learning camp will be open for students who want to enhance what they've learned during the school year and not just students with failing grades.

The pilot learning camp, which will be rolled out among Grades 7 and 8 students in July, is a "learning recovery" program that will be offered at the end of every school year. 

According to a DepEd order, it is meant to "complement the learning efforts in the previous school year and provide a firmer basis for further gains in the upcoming school year."

Poa said that DepEd wants to remove the “stigma” associated with students joining remedial or additional classes offered at the end of regular school years.

“Before, when you take summer classes or remedial classes, that means you have failing or low marks. That is a stigma we want to get rid of,” Poa said in Filipino during a Malacañang press briefing.

Poa added that the department has set its eyes on learning recovery following the gaps in students’ knowledge after the pandemic lockdowns. 

The learning recovery camp is also in response to the country’s laggard performance in international assessments on students’ reading, science and mathematics skills, Poa added.

The Philippines ranked the lowest in reading comprehension and second lowest in science and mathematics in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment, which tested 15 year olds across 79 countries.

Meanwhile, results of the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) showed that 27% of Filipino students in Grade 5 were only able to recognize single words, while only 10% developed enough reading skills to properly transition to high school.

Three options for students 

Poa explained that the learning camp will have three different tiers that students can join depending on their mastery of fundamental subjects, which will be based on the results of the pre-tests they recently took.

Students who have mastered the required lessons in class can join the “enhancement camp,” while students that had acquired but not mastered lessons can join the “consolidation camp.” 

Meanwhile, students who need help grasping foundational Mathematics and English skills can join the “intervention camp.”

DepEd has said that teacher and student participation in the learning camp is voluntary.