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MANILA, Philippines – Be careful when you share your comments online about ridiculous or terribly flawed study modules used by students in the distance education system at this time of a pandemic.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Saturday that people who spread “malicious” claims about error-laden learning materials allegedly printed by the Department of Education (DepEd) could face criminal charges such as cyberlibel.
Guevarra issued the warning after Education Secretary Leonor Briones said during a press conference on Friday that she had sought the help of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to identify those who maliciously blamed DepEd for publishing self-study modules containing mistakes.
Briones insisted that some of the modules with spelling and grammatical errors, whose photos had gone viral on social media, were not published by the central office of DepEd, but by its division and regional units.
“We have established that in certain instances, there are erroneous modules that are not ours, but are attributed to us,” said Briones.
However, it was not clear whether DepEd itself could be held responsible for module errors produced by its regional offices, school divisions, or even teachers.
NONE OF THE ABOVE This is an example of a learning module that puzzled even a parent of a student, who asked for help getting an answer to the question. The multiple choice question did not provide a correct answer. —PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Ready to help
Guevarra said the DOJ has not yet received the request for assistance from DepEd.
“But we will be ready to help if there is evidence that tends to show the false and malicious nature of these accusations about [its] learning modules, ”Guevarra said in a Viber message.
He said he would ask the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate Briones’ complaints.
The attorney general said that people on social media who share “false claims” about buggy modules can be held liable for cyberlibel if these accusations are “directly attributed to a certain person without overt intention, but to ridicule or defame “that person.
Errors found in learning materials from DepEd and its local chapters quickly became the subject of ridicule and harsh criticism on various social media platforms.
‘Obese person’
A highly criticized learning material had directed elementary students to draw 800 stars inside a small box. In another, the color red was described as a shape.
DepEd produced and distributed self-study modules after it adopted distance learning in place of face-to-face classes to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Last week, the education department received criticism after a teacher in the city of Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro province, called Angel Locsin an “obese person” in a module on a high school physical education subject. , prompting the Department to issue a public apology to the outspoken actress.
At least 41 errors
Since classes in public schools opened last month, Undersecretary of Education Diosdado San Antonio said they have discovered at least 41 errors in self-study modules published after they launched DepEd’s Error Watch to monitor failures in school materials. learning.
Of the 41 confirmed errors, San Antonio noted that 27 came from locally developed modules that could no longer be retrieved because they had already been used by students.
Incorrect calculations
He said the most common problems were factual errors, while others were incorrect calculations, misprints, and incorrect spelling or grammar.
Some of the modules were printed by DepEd’s division and regional offices, which had their own quality control and review mechanisms, San Antonio said.
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