THE DEPARTMENT of Education emphasized the agency’s direction and initiatives to strengthen learner socio-emotional support.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Dr. Dexter Galban said these efforts intend to help students to be more resilient as shown in the first episode of Research O’clock which aired last June 13.

“All of these efforts are intended to help make our learners more resilient, make them understand their mental health needs, and hopefully make them advocates for socio-emotional well-being amongst themselves and champions of such advocacy within their schools and their community,” Galban said.

Galban valued the department’s efforts in recognizing socio-emotional skills as an important part of learning and recovery, such as the Career Guidance Program, National Drug Education Program, Barkada Kontra Droga, Oplan Kalusugan sa DepEd, and Health Learning Institutions.

While focusing on learning recovery activities, Galban also announced DepEd’s aspirations in the After School Sports Program, use of the Parents-Teachers’ Association, expansion of the Barkada Kontra Droga Plus initiative, Development and Strengthening of new and existing collaborations, and the Mental Health Program for the holistic development of students.

Six more episodes of Research O’Clock 2023: Improving Basic Education Through Research will be released in June, July, August, September, October, and November of this year.