Senatorial candidate Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday expressed strong support for the “recovery plan” that is being devised by the Department of Education (DepEd) to address the gaps in the education sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Eleazar said this is crucial for the government to craft a comprehensive recovery plan to avoid the collapse of the education system as the prolonged coronavirus situation casts doubt on the full reopening of in-person classes.

“Mula noong magsimula ang pandemya, nakita natin na isa sa mga pinakaapektadong sektor ang mga estudyante at mga guro. Marami ang hindi agad nakapag-adapt sa online classes lalo na iyong mga nasa liblib na lugar at malalayong probinsya kaya napilitan na lang tumigil sa pag-aaral (Since the pandemic started, we have seen that the most affected sectors are those of the students and teachers. A lot of them were unable to adapt to online classes especially those living in far-flung areas and provinces, forcing them to drop from school),” Eleazar said.

This is the reason why there is a need to bridge the gap or disconnect experienced by the students, he added.

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones earlier said the agency is crafting a recovery plan that will serve as the guide for schools to address the learning gaps due to the pandemic.

Specifically, Eleazar said he supports the establishment of learning support centers in schools and community-based learning spaces for students.

Aside from this, other proposed strategies of the DepEd in the recovery plan include the extension of the school calendar, expansion of the learning time, the conduct of summer remediation and intervention programs, and hiring of additional learning support aides.

Eleazar also called on the government to make all the learning resources available offline so that students can access them even if they have no internet connection.

He said it is also beneficial for the students if they can be allotted gadgets that they can use for blended learning. (PNA)