THE DEPARTMENT of Education is considering reducing the use of self-learning materials saying that their production is harmful to the environment.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the paper used in the SLMs “use up a lot of trees” and the printing of the materials also add strain to the department’s financial resources.

“We are endeavoring to lessen our dependency on printed material if we want the environment to survive, if we want to limit the occurrence of natural disasters,”she said.

“Ayaw din nating i-encourage ang napakataas na dependency natin sa printed material,” she added.

Briones shared that the department had started distributing computers, laptops and tablets that were donated by the Bureau of Customs and the Chinese government to students, giving priority to those who cannot afford to buy gadgets.

The DepEd earlier said that students preferred printed modules as their alternative learning delivery mode.