Save the Children Philippines welcomed the decision of the government to move the school opening to October 5, 2020 to provide enough time for learners, parents, and guardians to prepare for the distance learning set-up.
“The support of parents, guardians, and the communities is critical to the fulfillment of the rights of every child to have access to quality and inclusive education, even during the pandemic,” said Atty. Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines.
Save the Children Philippines calls on all Local Government Units (LGUs) to capitalize on the extension period to be more prepared for the significant shift of learning space in the country’s educational system.
To help mitigate the rising cases of children missing out on school since the imposition of quarantine restrictions, Save the Children Philippines has launched several programs, as part of its COVID-19 response, that complement the government’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd).
In partnership with DepEd, Save the Children Philippines’ Project ARAL (Access to Resources for Alternative Learning) is able to help children from low-income families continue to learn at home through the provision of educational supplies and age-specific learning modules.
Bahay-Aralan, a component of Project ARAL, is a series of videos featuring COVID-19-sensitive adaptive activities and inclusive educational lessons which support the development of young children across all domains and promote positive parenting and resilience.
Its episodes are uploaded on Save the Children Philippines’ Facebook page (@SavetheChildrenPH) and YouTube channel (Save the Children Philippines), and also broadcasted weekdays on UNTV at 10AM and 10:30AM, and every Saturday at 3PM on DZRH “Boses ng Kabataan” program.
Supporting Project ARAL and Save the Children’s Save with Stories that provides fun and education to kids and parents through storytelling sessions by their favorite local celebrities, and Humanity as One. Protecting. Educating Online (HOPE Online) – a month-long fundraising event featuring popular personalities, artists, and changemakers giving hope to children premiering this Saturday, August 15, at 4PM live via https://web.facebook.com/SavetheChildrenPH/.
“We highly encourage our parents and guardians to use the period before the new class opening to avail of the learning opportunities we are providing in Save the Children to help ensure that no child is left behind and we continue our responsibility of being at the forefront of every child’s complete development,” said Muyot.
Save the Children Philippines, together with DepEd and the Australian government, also supports educators through its Sustaining Education Reform Gains (SERG) program that would improve the policies, systems, and processes for teacher professional development (TPD), to equip them better in facing new challenges in teaching.