PRODUCTION OF MODULES

Joel B. Echipare

Teachers are assigned to produce the modules of the learners. They need to ensure that every learner is provided with hardcopies of their modules for the week. For Grade I learners, they are expected to have five (5) modules for first quarter; seven (7) for Grade II learners, and eight (8) for Grade III to VI learners. The number of pages of modules vary from one learning area to another. So, teachers are expected to use five (5) reams of bond papers to produce the weekly modules of the learners.

In the production of modules, teachers ask their school heads for the printing materials to be used. School heads realign their School MOOE fund to have allocation for the printing of modules. Through this, they provide supplies and materials for the teachers. Depending on the number of enrollees, most big schools experience difficulties and challenges in the production of modules. The School MOOE budget is not enough to shoulder the expenses in printing of modules.

This is the reason why teachers ask donations from the parents and other stakeholders of the schools. They even asks the assistance of the community leaders to allocate funds for the printing of modules.

These scenarios are reported to the higher authorities that pushed them to provide additional funds for the printing of modules. The Schools Division Offices (SDOs) are directed to manage the printing of modules to be distributed in all schools. This is a sign of relief to the teachers because they just need to wait for the printed modules to be released to the schools. However, this episode is not lasting because the SDOs can only accommodate limited number of weeks. For the first two (2) weeks, schools receive 100% of the modules. For the succeeding weeks, schools receive only 50% of the total enrolment. This scenario requires the teachers to produce 50% of the modules. Aside from that, there are times when the modules arrive late. Because of this anticipated scenes, schools decided to produce 100% of their total enrollment. They need to cope with the prescribed number of weeks for the quarter.

The production of modules take place in the school and at home. Teachers are spending most of their time in the production of modules of their learners. From the moment they arrived in the school, they start their work by producing the modules in a particular learning area. This is also the time for the teachers to arrange the produced modules and sort these into the number of their learners. Printing, stapling, and sorting – these become the routine of the teachers in the production of the modules of the learners. There are times when they ask the help of their family members in the production of modules, most especially when the teachers are working from home. This becomes the regular bonding of the family as part of the sacrifice of the teachers and their families in the execution of their assigned work.

The production of module is not an easy task for the teachers. They need to devote their time in doing this task to ensure that a clear copy is printed. Likewise, they need to also consider the sequence of the contents of the modules to avoid confusion. This is just a part of the daily routine of the teachers because they have other things to attend to especially when there are urgent reports, or they are assigned to attend various trainings and other related activities. However, this kind of work obliged teachers to work on their own. They must not rely on this kind of work to their colleagues because they are also doing the same to their assigned grade levels.

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The author is Teacher III at Collat Elementary School Masinloc, Zambales