THE CITY government of Batac in Ilocos Norte is reaching out to all its community centers located in forty-three rural and urban barangays to ensure that no student is left behind amid the implementation of blended learning.

Mayor Albert Chua said they started distributing Information and Communication Technology equipment composed of desktop computers to aid learners who have no gadgets and or have difficulties of keeping up with online learning.

Chua said the ICT equipment was sourced out from the city government’s Special Education Fund.

“In Batac, we are lucky that we were able to achieve our year-end target even with the ongoing pandemic. We are thankful for the national government’s Bayanihan fund grant which sustains our efforts to recover and heal as one,” he said.

Next to health, education is among the priority programs of the city government of Batac amid the Covid19 pandemic.

Nemalyn Ulep, chief education supervisor of the Department of Education’s School Governance and Operations Division in the city, said the distribution of ICT equipment is in response to the technological needs of the learners.

Aside from the self-learning modules being distributed to young learners, the desktop computers were installed with Starbooks, an offline and online repository of learning resources. These can be accessed by the learners with just a few clicks if they have no learning gadgets at home.

Under the blended learning scheme, the DepEd announced earlier it will not adopt the pass or drop grading system as the department sees that remedial classes are the solution for learners who are at risk of failing.

This is a welcome development for the learners in the province as they are still adjusting to the new normal education system.