Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian at a hybrid technical working group meeting last February 18, 2021. Albert Calvelo, Senate PRIB
MANILA – Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday he was surprised at the Department of Education’s report that over 99 percent of students passed the first grading period of the current school year, which saw Philippine schools shift to distance learning due to the pandemic.
At a Senate hearing, a presentation by Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio showed that 99.13 percent of students obtained passing marks during the first quarter.
The figure was based on reports submitted by 156 out of 223 school divisions across the country and had yet to include data from the Ilocos Region, Central Visayas, National Capital Region and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“We’re not after the intention of misrepresentation of data. We just need to appreciate it fully. But for now, personally, this is my personal thought, it was just surprising that the results were all 99 percent,” said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate basic education committee.
Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio’s presentation at the Senate showed that 99 percent of Filipino students obtained passing grades during the first quarter of School Year 2020-2021.Screengrab from Senate YouTube livestream
Education Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio’s presentation at the Senate showed that 99 percent of Filipino students obtained passing grades during the first quarter of School Year 2020-2021.Screengrab from Senate YouTube livestream
San Antonio explained that the department asked its regional offices for the number of students that obtained passing marks, which was “the only way we could measure whether the learners have learned” under the new distance learning setup.
The education official noted that the basis for most of the grades were performance tasks and written outputs since schools did not administer the usual periodic examinations.
San Antonio also attributed the passing mark to the DepEd’s academic ease policy, which gives flexibility to students in answering and submitting requirements.
Gatchalian showed an assessment done by the DepEd’s division office in Valenzuela City, where he previously served as mayor and legislative district representative.
The assessment showed that Valenzuela students from Grade 7 to 10 had an overall average performance rate of 48 percent to 55 percent across different subjects.
“These are just preliminary results but I wanted to get an indication somehow of whether our students are learning. This sounds more realistic, frankly speaking, compared to the 99 percent who passed,” Gatchalian said.
“Of course, I want all of them to pass but realistically, we all know the performance of our students,” the lawmaker added.
Gatchalian said there was a need to assess the subject where Filipino students are weak and “pinpoint the items and subjects where we need to intervene.”
San Antonio also reiterated that parents answering their children’s modules was beyond the control of the DepEd.
“We were very clear that this school year, since home-based siya, is also the best time to teach honesty to our children,” he said.
Under distance learning, students study at home through printed and digital modules, online classes, television and radio.
President Rodrigo Duterte has twice rejected the DepEd’s proposal to hold limited in-person classes despite growing calls from lawmakers and various groups, who cited challenges in distance learning.
The Senate on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for a pilot implementation of limited in-person classes in areas where there are few to zero COVID-19 cases.
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