Teachers defy DepEd, use banned guidebooks
LINGAYEN–While the contentious issues surrounding the controversial teacher’s guidebooks published by the Espino administration remain unresolved, the books’ popularity among teachers in the province has grown.
Of late, five school superintendents of Pangasinan have endorsed the use of the books by the teachers in direct defiance of the order of the Department of Education not to use it.
Consequently, Gov. Amado Espino Jr. informed newsmen on Wednesday that he is printing more copies of the teachers’ guidebooks for distribution to teachers in the cities of Alaminos, San Carlos and Urdaneta.
The school superintendents of Pangasinan I and Pangasinan II endorsed the request of the city school superintendents of Alaminos, San Carlos and Urdaneta reportedly at the risk of being cited for insubordination by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.
The teachers’ guidebooks in English, Math and Science, initially published for Pangasinan I and II school divisions last year with the help of the provincial government, will eventually be produced in bigger quantity, Espino declared.
The governor said he is encouraged by the admission of teachers that they were using the guidebooks in their classes.
The DepEd earlier sought deferment of usage of the guidebooks until after a full review has been undertaken and corrections have been made.
The initial beneficiaries of the guidebooks were elementary school teachers from Pangasinan I and II school divisions who already started using them since first day of the school year despite the DepEd order.
Pangasinan 1 Superintendent Aurora Domingo said “The teachers made the necessary corrections on the errors found in the books” as she pointed out that teachers found them useful as resource books.
Domingo clarified that Sec. Lapus did not actually order the recall of the guidebooks but sought that these be reviewed by an office in the DepEd after noting some minor errors but which the teachers themselves already readily corrected.
She added that as far as she is concerned all is well that ends well between DepEd central office and the office of Governor Espino on the issue of the teachers’ guidebooks.
Domingo appealed to the provincial government to help publish guidebooks for secondary school teachers as well to ensure uniform instruction in Pangasinan.
Domingo succeeded Alma Ruby Torio who was re-assigned by Lapus to Dagupan as division superintendent on account of the guidebook issue.
Meanwhile, Veraluz Raguindin, Pangasinan II division superintendent said, “When our governor asked us to return these, not a single teacher and school administrator complied”.
Superintendents Rowena Banzon of San Carlos City, Oscar Tadeo of Alaminos City and Maria Celia Fernandez of Urdaneta City have requested copies of the books for their teachers’ own use.
Espino, however, pointed out that while the books will be supplied to the 3 cities, Alaminos, San Carlos and Urdaneta are component cities of Pangasinan that do not remit their Real Property Tax collections to the province and therefore are not beneficiaries of school board funds of Pangasinan.- LM
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