DepEd will enlist the help of the best journalists for the TV learning service

MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) is enlisting the help of the country’s top broadcast journalists to train teachers for its TV learning service, an official said Saturday.

“It is the idea of ​​the team … Of course, there were people who suggested that it would be more effective if we had personalities or celebrities,” Undersecretary of Education Diosdado San Antonio told the ANC.

Among those selected to train teachers for DepEd TV as the country shifts to distance learning are Kim Atienza, Arnold Clavio, Karen Dávila, Korina Sánchez, and Jessica Soho.

DepEd’s Teacher-Speakers Training Program will help equip a select group of teachers to become effective presenters on television and will also enable them to understand the elements of video production, Deputy Secretary of Education Alain said Friday. Easter, in a statement.

DepEd also plans to build broadcast-ready studios throughout the country, he added. Currently, 16 areas are already preparing for this, including Ilocos Norte, Lanao del Norte, Pangasinan, Zamboanga, Palawan and Davao.

The Director of the Information and Communications Technology Service, Abram Abanil, said the agency intended to produce 130 episodes per week, which would only cover the main subject areas under the most essential learning competencies.

Meanwhile, San Antonio said DepEd was ready for the school to open on Oct. 5, and said most schools have tested.

“We are sure that our schools, more than 70 percent of them, have done their own tests. The rest would be doing the simulations before October 5,” he said.

“They have assured us that the preparations are going well because we had extra time to prepare for the things we wanted to work on. We feel we are ready, very ready to start the school year on October 5.”

On that day, students will be learning at home through print and digital modules, online classes, television, and radio.

The government has banned face-to-face classes until the COVID-19 vaccine is available in the country.

More than 24.5 million students were enrolled for the school year despite the pandemic, according to data from DepEd as of Sept. 18.

Of the total number of students, more than 22 million are in public schools, while the rest are enrolled in private schools.