DepEd: ‘Catch-Up Fridays’ materials not for sale

[Lee]

Some are always after that last peso.

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The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it is looking into reports that some public school personnel are forcing students to pay for learning materials under the Catch-Up Fridays reading program, which aims to reverse the low rankings of Filipino learners in reading and comprehension.

In a statement, DepEd noted that it got wind of “several complaints” about school staff “requiring learners to buy booklets or workbooks” for Catch-Up Fridays and other school events.

“The department reiterates that such acts are strictly prohibited. Catch-Up Fridays and other school activities must not involve out-of-pocket costs,” it said.

With the investigation of such cases underway, erring school personnel found selling learning materials will be penalized, DepEd warned.

“Any individual found guilty of such scheme shall face appropriate administrative sanctions,” it said.

The education agency urged parents and students to shun any offers of school materials for sale and to report similar cases to the Office of the Secretary at osec@deped.gov.ph.

The Inquirer asked DepEd whether it has already meted sanctions to erring school workers, but it has yet to reply at press time.

Every Friday, classes will be dedicated exclusively to reading exercises for the first half of the day’s schedule, while the other half will be devoted to discussions on values, health, and peace education, as well as the “Homeroom Guidance Program.”

DepEd’s latest intervention to address learning gaps among learners was in response to the latest results of national and international reports and assessments on Filipino students’ reading proficiency levels.

 

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[Lee1154]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:46 AM, Lee said:

Some are always after that last peso.

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So not only were they not teaching my daughter much but they were also scamming the parents.  We paid for the reading material.

[hk blues]

2 hours ago, Lee1154 said:

So not only were they not teaching my daughter much but they were also scamming the parents.  We paid for the reading material.

Every chance to make money here is exploited. Shame on them. 

Of course, if the Gov. and DepEd actually cared they would instruct refunds to be given - let's see. But, I wouldn't hold my breath because such practices are not only not frowned upon here but seem to be worn as a badge of honor by much of the population. 

[Lee1154]

MANILA, Philippines — Two teacher groups have urged the Department of Education to stop the implementation of Catch Up Fridays as more students have reportedly been skipping school on Fridays due to a lack of engagement with the program, especially in schools with limited reading materials.

In separate statements and interviews, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) criticized DepEd’s lack of provision of reading materials for teachers to carry out the weekly reading intervention program, leading to its uneven implementation in schools.

“After a month of implementing Catch-Up Fridays, it is the teachers who bear the brunt of the additional workload in preparation and implementation. Due to the lack or insufficiency of books or materials, teachers are forced to spend on photocopying reading materials,” ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said.

 

“Absence of guidelines leaves room for interpretation, resulting in a variety of activities deemed as 'Ready Activities'. Reports also indicate an increase in student absenteeism and tardiness on Fridays, posing challenges for teachers in achieving the objectives of Catch-Up Friday,” Quetua added.

Similarly, TDC Chairperson Benjo Basas said that students’ waning interest in reading every Friday have made them skip school instead, including students who can read and do not see the importance of still participating in the program.

 

“They think, ‘Might as well just be absent.’ That’s the reports received by members of TDC,” Basas said in Filipino.

Launched by DepEd in January, Catch Up Fridays is a weekly learning intervention program that requires schools to dedicate half of the day to reading activities and the other half to values, health and peace education.

The reading intervention program targets both non-readers and students who can read through "differentiated instruction," a teaching strategy that aims to benefit a wide range of students by tailoring lessons to students' specific interests and needs. However, based on EDCOM 2's initial assessment of the program, teachers struggle to implement differentiated instruction in class due to lack of training.

DepEd last week flagged reports that some school personnel have resorted to selling books and workbooks and requiring parents and students to buy these. The department urged parents not to “patronize such transactions” as the weekly program should not require out-of-pocket expenses.

 

Basas said this only indicates that the responsibility of providing students with reading materials had been passed onto teachers and school personnel.

“This is the symptom, and not the illness. This happened perhaps out of the necessity and  passion to carry on with a program that was not given the proper provision of materials,” he said.   

Both groups said that the program should be stopped as it also takes away one day of regular classes, “defeating” its purpose of helping students catch up with their overall learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The very purpose of this is defeated. The best solution is to stop it and to have a discussion between DepEd and stakeholders, teachers and school heads,” Basas added.

Quetua added that intervention programs should be “tailored to individual learners’ needs” and that “consultations” should have come before its implementation. 

“For a fair and effective learning recovery program, the participation of teachers should be considered in crafting any learning intervention. It should not be limited to the issuance of directives by the DepEd Central Office,” Quetua said.

Latest World Bank data shows that nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 struggle to read simple text. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the figures showed seven out of 10 struggled to read. 

According to the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment results, only 24% of 15-year-old Filipino students were found to have basic reading proficiency.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/03/07/2338791/deped-urged-stop-catch-fridays-after-teachers-flag-drop-student-attendance

Teachers have a four year degree for TEACHING but they do not know how to teach at different levels without further training?  Wow

[Possum]

Kinda what I thought. Another unfunded mandate from the Dept. of "Education"

[hk blues]

31 minutes ago, Possum said:

Kinda what I thought. Another unfunded mandate from the Dept. of "Education"

I wondered if this was done purely to gain popularity amongst the huge number of teachers here  who may see it as pretty much a day off but seems not given teacher's groups are unhappy.

[Lee]

‘Catch-up Fridays’ hurting teachers pockets

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“Catch-up Fridays” are draining the pockets of public school teachers, who find themselves shelling out personal funds to cover the learning materials needed for these Friday activities.

A situation borne out of good intentions that sometimes lead to unpleasant results — a truism being felt by many public school teachers, who have to dig deeper in their pockets for the learning materials of these activities.

Other teachers meanwhile spend out-of-pocket for prizes and other incentives to entice more students to attend the Department of Education’s (DepEd) latest initiative to improve the reading proficiency levels of Filipino learners. The nongraded activity has been plagued with absenteeism.

“Since teachers practically get no support from DepEd for the reading materials [for the program], teachers will have to shoulder their cost, and that’s where the problem lies,” Benjo Basas, chair of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

Quoting his fellow teachers, Basas said they shell out at least P300 in monthly expenses to cover the materials. Fortunately, some schools distribute soft copies to students, sparing some teachers this extra expense, he added.

While Basas stressed that the TDC “does not condone” passing on this expense to students, he noted that DepEd and the public need to understand why there are reports of this “inappropriate practice” happening.

“If it weren’t for the [program], there would be no need for teachers to even look for [extra] resources,” he said.

ACT Teachers party list said it does not tolerate the practice either, but noted that it is “unjust” for teachers to come up with their own learning resources and spend for them because of the “lack or insufficiency of books or materials” from DepEd.

Snacks and candies

Anne Francisco, a Grade 7 teacher at Signal Village National High School in Taguig City, said she did not have to spend on learning materials as teachers in her school need only to “request [the materials] ahead of time,” since these “printed materials” are covered by the school funds.

But to effectively implement the program, Francisco said she had to buy snacks and candies worth around P100 as giveaways to students, after she noticed that her class of 47 has an average of five absentees every Friday.

“Catch-Up Fridays are not [graded], that’s why some kids prefer to just skip it,” Francisco told the Inquirer. “We provide prizes for [the students] so they won’t get bored and [we can] persuade them to go to class every Friday.”

The program that started on Jan. 12 replaced regular Friday classes to give way to activities meant to reverse the low rankings of Filipino learners in reading and comprehension. While not graded, the students’ performance is monitored through their “reflection journal.”

More workload

Strategies to help students deepen their love for reading vary among fellow teachers, said Francisco, who noted that her students have “leveled up in reading and comprehension” since she started moderating the program.

“We make sure that they’re having fun, [and] we make activities that relate to the stories they’ve read,” she said.

Francisco added, however, that she prefers having the weekly reading sessions deferred until the next school year “just so we’re not pressed for time to come up with a lesson [plan].”

Aside from added expenses, Basas said the new program has “further burdened” teachers with more workload because those who conduct the reading sessions now have “a new subject that they would have to teach, instead of just the usual regular subjects.”

The added workload and the unwelcome financial burden have led both the TDC and the ACT Teachers party list to call for the program’s suspension.

“From the very start, we’ve been saying that this is not a necessity. In fact, we have a National Learning Camp (NLC) … which has almost the same objectives [as Catch-Up Fridays],” Basas pointed out.

The NLC was rolled out last year to similarly address learning losses through “enrichment, intervention or remediation activities” for Grades 7 and 8 students while they are on their end-of-school-year break, he said.

‘Reduced’ schedule

Basas clarified that the TDC is not against interventions meant to address the learning gaps among Filipino students, as shown in the recent results of national and international assessments.

“No teacher in his or her right mind will oppose measures to recover learning losses,” he said. “Our only concern is that [Catch-Up Fridays] may do more harm than good.”

He noted that the current school year has already been reduced by two weeks to accommodate “our common desire to revert to the June to March [school] cycle.” Now “we are again reducing the week by a day [for Catch-Up Fridays],” he said.

ACT Teachers also argued for the suspension of the program in the absence of clear guidelines, noting that “it is the teachers who bear the brunt of additional workload in [its] preparation and implementation.”

Earlier, the group pointed out that “the decision [on Catch-Up Fridays] was made without democratic and extensive consultation with teachers and stakeholders. Consequently, teachers had to procure books and photocopy reading materials from their own pockets.”

‘Collating the feedback’

DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, however, said the agency was not inclined to halt the implementation of the program which would run until the end of the current school year on May 31.

DepEd is now in the process of threshing out issues that may have led to hiccups in the program’s implementation, he added.

“We have issued a memorandum to the field last Friday, encouraging our teachers, teachers in charge and principals to provide feedback and recommendations on the conduct of Catch-Up Fridays,” Poa said in a text message.

“Based on the feedback and recommendations received, we will implement appropriate measures to continuously enhance the program and address the issues encountered,” he added.

 

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