DepEd in chaos

The National Career Assessment Exams (NCAE), taken by junior high school students to help them decide which track to take in senior high school, has been postponed by the Department of Education for the third time this school year. Originally scheduled for Aug. 26, 2016, it was first postponed to Dec. 7 and 9, 2016. That did not push through and it was rescheduled for March 1 and 2, 2017. This, too, was put on hold.

Now, the DepEd cannot even give the schools a definite date as to when the students will finally take the exams. The school year is about to end. When will the students take the NCAE—during their final exams, or, worse, in the next school year? Education Secretary Leonor Briones gave the lame excuse that “their supplier was not able to deliver the test papers,” forgetting it must be that this is already the third time it happened.

The oft-repeated postponement of the NCAE, as well as the National Achievement Tests for Grades 6 and 10 students, are just the tip of the iceberg, a glimpse of the chaos and mayhem which seems to prevail at the DepEd. It shows that the people running the department are negligent, disorganized, inept, inefficient, incompetent and irresponsible.

I have two requests to make to the DepEd, which I now herein make public and official:

For the DepEd to furnish the public, through nationwide publication, the complete list of all its offices and satellite agencies, their respective
officials and the specific duties, responsibilities and functions of each.

For the DepEd to furnish the public, also through nationwide publication, the complete list of all the textbooks and learner’s materials that are presently being used in all public elementary and secondary schools in the country.

ANTONIO CALIPJO GO, academic supervisor, Marian School of Quezon City, [email protected]