With the opening of the classes slated on September 13, the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 3 has officially started the 2021 Brigada Eskwela dubbed ‘Bayanihan sa Paaralan’, a move to make sure that the quality basic education of public school students will not be interrupted amid the lingering health crisis.
Despite the shortage of experiences in delivering distance learning, Regional Director May Eclar said that the education department was able to adjust to the new normal mode of education and develop a Basic Education Learning Continuity Plans.
Eclar said: “With no benchmarks or past experiences in delivering distance education amidst a pandemic, we at the Department of Education were quick on our feet and developed our Basic Education Learning Continuity Plans and thus, we needed all the assistance that we can get to successfully conduct the various alternative learning modalities such as the modular approach, online learning, radio-based and TV-based instruction.”
Eclar is thankful for the generosity and support of its education partners that enabled the education department to stand up to the challenges and difficulties posed by the pandemic
Its partners include local government officials, civic groups and none-government organizations, parents, barangay leaders, volunteer teachers, and those in the community.
“This gives us a clear picture that we Filipinos, could rise above any calamity or crisis because we help and support one another,” she added.
The Virtual Regional Kick-Off Program, which happened on August 6, focused on the efforts to further strengthen the engagement of education partners and stakeholders to ensure learning continuity amidst the prevailing health crisis.
The focus of this year’s Brigada Eskwela is to strengthen partnership engagements that complement DepEd’s efforts to ensure quality basic education amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brigada Pagbasa as a form of Brigada Eskwela shall highlight the implementation to promote literacy and numeracy through the help of DepEd partners and volunteers.
“As we launch this year’s Brigada Eskwela, we accept the call of not just ensuring education continuity, but we also vow to help improve the quality of education amidst the ongoing health crisis. We shall double our efforts to guarantee that every Filipino learner acquire the basic competencies such as literacy and numeracy. Working together, we shall intensify our collaboration to uplift the quality of education and meet the current gaps of our educational system,” RD Eclar added.
The education department sees to it that the implementation of Brigada Eskwela complies with the required health standards, which include following social distancing and practicing proper hygiene consistent with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) health protocols, Department of Health (DOH) health standards, local and national quarantine rules, and all other relevant protocols as detailed in DepEd and DepEd Task Force COVID-19 issuances.