By Vanne Elaine Terrazola  Senators on Thursday, June 25, raised concern over the Department of Education's seeming lack of preparedness for the opening of classes on August 24. During the Senate basic education committee's hearing on the bills seeking to establish and institutionalize education policies in the new normal, the DepEd was asked about its readiness in ensuring that learning will not be hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, committee chairman, said he "encoutered a lot of problems" with the DepEd's learning continuity plan for basic education, which includes the adoption of alternative learning delivery modalities, such as blended learning and distance learning. Gatchalian particularly referred to the preparedness of teachers for distance learning. With less than two months remaining before the classes reopen, the DepEd said it has trained 337,486 teachers or 40 percent of the more than 800,000 public school teachers in the country. The teachers were trained on Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based teaching from March to June. "Eh malapit na po yong August 24 school opening, so paano po ito? Kung ready na yong 40 percent paano naman yong 60 percent?" Senator Francis Tolentino asked. In response, DepEd Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said: "We hope to be able to provide training for our fellow teachers this July the remaining 60 percent." Bureau of Learning Delivery director Leila Areola said a "massive training" for all the teachers will be spearheaded by the National Educators Academy of the Philippines. The DepEd, she said, is currently working on the training modules for this training program. The education officials were quick to note, however, that regional and division offices, as well as some schools, have also taken initiatives to train the teachers in their respective jurisdictions. "In my view, the teachers should be prepared 24/7. The teachers should be prepared in any eventuality, and this pandemic has demonstrated that our teachers are not equipped and trained in terms of distance learning. And of course doing it in haste is not the best way, because we'll leave a lot of details and not get the full optimum level of teaching when we do it in haste," Gatchalian pointed out. "Just to remind everyone, our country always faces different calamities, we are second among the most vulnerable countries when it comes to disasters...Our teachers should be prepared. What we want to happen is mitigate the risk of not learning," he added. Aside from the training of teachers, DepEd officials also admitted that their agency is still gathering information about the capability of the school children to cope with the alternative learning modes. San Antonio explained that the DepEd's online enrollment campaign is ongoing, which also aimed to "map what modalities would be appropriate to specific groups of learners before the school year opens." Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said the modalities --- either thru online, or distribution of self-learning modules and radio and television learning -- will also depend on the recommendation of school heads and DepEd regional directors. He asked the senators to give them enough time, saying the DepEd might be able to come up with the necessary information by July. When asked by Senator Nancy Binay if the learning materials are ready and are already printed, Umali also conceded: "Very honestly, inaayos pa po namin (we are still working on it)." Umali explained that the learning modules differ for each grading period, and should be contextualized based on existing learning competencies. The modules, he said, are expected to be printed starting July. Printing of materials "usually takes 30 to 60 days including their deliveries," Umali said. "By August 24, or even before that, that should be ready," Umali assured. With the Deped's admissions, Tolentino expressed doubt that the agency will be able to implement its learning continuity plans. Echoing the calls of local government officials for the postponement of the August school opening, the administration senator cited a May, 2020 study stating that the "planning, preparation and development for a fully inclined force is normally six to nine months before the course is delivered." "It will be impossible for every faculty member to suddenly become an expert in online teaching and learning in this current situation...Sa loob ba ng isang buwan matatapos natin 'yan (Can we finish all these in one month)? Given the lack of preparations we have right now?" Tolentino stressed. Umali, later in the hearing, told senators that the DepEd will conduct a dry-run of the implementation of the blended and distance learning before classes officially open. "DepEd has committed to our President that we will do a dry-run of everything that we are talking about here now. And that should happen, if not first, latest is second week of August. Definitely before the actual start of classes, we will do what some called a simulation, a dry-run," Umali said. The DepEd said some 13.8 million learners have so far enrolled for the school year 2020-2021. Umali said they expect the figure to increase by the end of June.