Alternative Education in Emergencies – Module 4 (Planning and Starting Education in Emergencies)

The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) recognizes several alternative programs or strategies to provide education to students for whom the traditional mode of delivery is not possible, available, or effective.

Alternative education options are implemented in response to a variety of challenges, such as overcrowding, teacher shortages, lack of instructional materials, and remoteness or inaccessibility of schools. In the aftermath of a calamity, communities may suffer from any or all the above, which points to the potential of such programs to sustain learning. Indeed, teachers are often forced to innovate the way they organize learning after a calamity, even if they are not formally trained in using a particular alternative education program.

In the time of the COVID-19 health crisis, thousands of schools around the world have physically shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. Education sectors globally have resorted to different alternative education options to ensure that education will continue amidst the pandemic.

The Alternative Education in Emergencies Resource Kit is an 11-module knowledge product that provides guidance for teachers and school administrators on how alternative and flexible learning options can help sustain quality learning after a disaster, and how they can be adapted to suit a range of contexts and evolving needs as communities gradually recover to normalcy.

Module 4 of the Alternative Education in Emergencies Resource Kit is about jumpstarting education in emergencies. It provides ideas on priority actions to take at the early stages of conceptualizing EiE interventions, such as selecting an alternative learning modality. It presents the advantages and disadvantages of various learning modalities, and what to consider when choosing to apply a learning modality in an emergency.