Hataman bats for 'new normal' in education

PREPARE blended and hybrid lesson plan for the new normal in education.

Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman made this call to the Department of Education as the education sector, parents and students prepare for the next school year amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement, Hataman said the blended and hybrid lesson plan should be applicable nationwide and not just In areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) and enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

"The government has three months until August to finish its 'greatest homework' of adjusting the school system to the pandemic reality, which is to prevent some 31 million students from physically attending classes in packed schools,” Hataman said.

“To use a teaching term, they have three months to write the ‘new lesson plan’ of education in the time of coronavirus, and it is not an easy task. The government should now pool its brightest minds to try and solve this pandemic puzzle and allow for an efficient education system without exposing students, teachers and school employees to risks," he added.

The House leader joined the “no vaccine, no physical classes” cry.

Hataman said for as long no vaccine against COVID-19 is available, the children will face mortal danger if they are made to physically return to school.

"I am also an advocate of mass testing. Hanggangwalang mass testing nanangyayari, lalongdapatnatinghindipayagannabumaliksaeskwelahanangmgabata,” he stressed.

But the four-term Basilan lawmaker also stated that allowing students to stay idle while the world waits for a vaccine is counter-productive.

“Mass vaccination is the requisite for the universal return to schools. But, on the other hand, children will suffer if their schooling will stop. Hence, the need for alternative forms in which students will learn outside the traditional classroom setting," Hataman said.

Hataman asserted that teaching now joins “testing, transport and trabaho” as the four urgent tasks of the country, as he lauded DepEd and CHED for preparing a guide to a “blended and hybrid” new kind of teaching, which combines online courses, mass media instruction, traditional in-school classes, and home visits, among other modalities.

He explained that the main challenge is how teachers will pick from the “cafeteria of learning options” and apply it to a learner based on the latter’s geographic location, home environment, socioeconomic status, and digital infrastructure, to cite just a few considerations.

Meanwhile, Hataman said that to allow DepEd to shift to the new normal the government should spare DepEd from budgetary cuts and just let it re-channel its funds to activities that will ensure that the education of the young will not be interrupted.