DepEd allows extracurricular activities
PUBLIC schools may now conduct inperson extracurricular activities so long as these follow health guidelines and are held outside of class hours and after quarterly exams, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced.
The conduct of extracurricular activities, as well as curricular activities, must follow guidelines set by DepEd Order (DO) 003 s. 2023, issued by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Jan. 26, 2023.
The order reads: “For the safe resumption and reintroduction of the conduct of in-person school activities, consistent with the public health standards of the government in light of Covid-19, the following guidelines shall be observed: Curricular and cocurricular activities that involve the in-person gathering of a number of participants shall be allowed.”
DO 003, the vice president said, is in line with the commitment of DepEd to “deliver quality basic education in a safe learning environment to learners.”
The order is addressed to undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, bureau and service directors, regional directors, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao minister of education, BARMM schools division superintendents, public elementary and secondary school heads, and state/ local university and college heads.
The order clarified that curricular activities are to be conducted during the academic quarter to “ensure that learners can seamlessly connect and integrate learning within and across learning areas.”
Meanwhile, co-curricular activities, it said, shall be conducted after the quarterly examinations, that is, “only if and when it is outside class hours” to avoid disrupting classes.
DepEd said this is in line with item 33 of DepEd Order O34, s. 2O22 dated July 11, 2022, which strictly prohibits the conduct of extracurricular activities during class hours.
Private schools may adopt these DepEd guidelines, as embodied in the circular.
“Public schools must ensure the strict observance of these guidelines during the conduct of in-person curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. Private schools, community learning centers, as well as state/local universities and colleges (SUCs/ LUCs) may choose to adopt these provisions of this DO as a basis in the conduct of in-person curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities,” it said.
Meanwhile, Duterte pledged to push for educational reforms in response to systemic challenges in the education sector.
In her Basic Education Report (BER) 2023 on Monday, Duterte said the lack of school facilities, rundown classrooms and slow training of teachers are among the most pressing concerns confronting the DepEd.
“Filipino learners are not academically proficient,” she said, with many of them experiencing “emotional abuse and exhaustion,” the reason why a large number of students fail “to meet the standards of the demanding, competitive world.”
“But this is a future we can change, and that’s why we are here,” Duterte told the guests at the presentation, which included President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., lawmakers, the diplomatic corps and education stakeholders.
DepEd’s latest inventory, she said, shows that there are 327,851 school buildings but only 104,536 are in good condition, with 100,072 needing minor repairs, 89,252 needing major repairs, and 21,727 set for condemnation.
She also cited the congested basic curriculum, along with missing or misplaced competencies, as contributory to the wide learning gap.
As to the K to 12 curriculum, earlier believed to produce senior high school graduates who are employable, she said it has turned out to look good only on paper.
“Industry partners have expressed concern that the time allotment for work immersion is only for familiarization and not for actual skills acquisition. Today, most senior high school graduates find the need to pursue higher education in order to find employment,” Duterte said.
Duterte also expressed alarm over the lingering problem of students’ inferior English proficiency and low rate of literacy.
Citing study results, 81 percent of participating Filipino learners could not deal with basic math problems, 81 percent had trouble understanding texts of moderate length, and 78 percent could not recognize correct explanations for scientific phenomena or draw valid conclusions from given data.
“We can do better than this. We are better than this. But studies like these are opportunities for us to thoroughly examine our system and the defects that hurt our children’s abilities,” the vice president said.
She said there is a need to improve the teachers’ proficiency so they can educate students efficiently and effectively, but that educators are also victims of a “failed” education system.
“This is a system that burdens them with backbreaking and time-consuming administrative tasks, a system that provides no adequate support and robs them of the opportunity to professionally grow and professionally teach, assist, and guide our learners,” Duterte stressed.
Resolving the education sector’s problems is a long, winding road, but DepEd has “already taken small steps,” Duterte said.
She expressed confidence that by the end of President Marcos’ term, the country’s basic education system would have attained new heights.