The Department of Education’s broadcast content for distance learning came under fire anew after a glaring mathematical error was noticed and criticized by social media users.
In a post on Wednesday, DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua apologized for the mistake found on the second episode of a mathematics class for grade 9.
Part of the broadcast showed a mathematical equation with an erroneous solution where 2x was divided by 0 to get the value of x.
Numbers, however, cannot be divided by zero. Such equations should result to an undefined answer.
The math error was aired on DepEd TV through IBC-13, one of the distance learning modes, early this week.
The entire episode was also uploaded on the Facebook page of IBC-13.
“Humihingi po kami ng paumanhin sa ating mga mag-aaral, sa mga magulang at teachers sa pagkakamaling ito,” Pascua said.
He also assured that the education department would improve the quality of its lessons.
“Hihigpitan po natin ang pag-QA para maging perpekto ang ating mga episodes sa DepEd TV,” the education official said.
Pascua recalled that the mistake was raised to him by his friend in Batangas while he was monitoring the opening of classes in Pangasinan.
It was Facebook user Jemina Manansala, meanwhile, who posted a screenshot of the lesson on Facebook on October 6.
Her post had since earned 31,000 shares and over 26,000 reactions on the social networking site.
Amid the backlash, some users lamented the poorly made learning materials for both the teachers and the students.
“If learning materials were poorly made, hindi natututo nang maayos ang learners and the teachers can’t properly assess students’ learning,” one user said.
“Why did the DepEd insisted to start the class when they know that they are not yet ready,” another user said.
Lessons learned?
Pascua acknowledged the issue and stressed that the mathematical solution will be corrected immediately before uploading it through DepEd’s website and YouTube channel.
He then hoped that the public will also recognize the agency’s efforts and sacrifices instead of just pointing out mistakes.
“Salamat po sa pagcritique sa episodes ng DepEd TV. Sana wag lang mali ang tinitignan ng bawat isa. Sana naman ay marecognize din ang galing at sakripisyo ng ating mga Teacher-Broadcasters, mga Production Team at buong DepEd TV, DepEd Commons, DepEd YouTube Channel Teams,” he said.
Pascua then expressed optimism with the public’s criticisms, citing the importance of better quality control.
“May maganda ring naidulot ang pagkakamali na ito at ang pagcritique sa maling ito. Ipinapaalam sa atin lahat na mahalaga ang pag-QA sa mga episodes sa at paulit-ulit na pagreview ng mga episodes kahit pagod at puyat na ang mga teams ng DepEd TV. Nalaman na rin ng buong bansa, bata o matanda, na hindi pwedeng maging divisor ang zero,” he said, adding the hashtag #lessonslearned.
This was not the first time that DepEd TV’s broadcast content contained obvious lapses.
During their test run last August, editor-writer Joel Pablo Salud posted grammatical errors at a question for English class for grade 8 students.
READ: DepEd acknowledges mistake on blended learning broadcast content after drawing flak
The question itself has a missing word and the choices were deemed problematic.
The DepEd TV is just one of the delivery modalities for the agency’s blended or distancing learning approach amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Other modes of deliveries include via online, printed or radio.