MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday acknowledged the mistake in a DepEd TV episode presenting a lesson for Mathematics 9.
“This is Episode #56 aired on DepEd TV. In the linear (not quadratic) equation 2x=0, the divisor should be 2 (not zero) to get the value of x. So, 2x/2 = 0/2, cancel 2, 0/2=0. So, x=0. The lesson here is 0 can’t be used as divisor because the answer will be undefined,” DepEd Undersecretary Alain Pascua said in a statement.
Pascua said the portion of the episode has “slipped quality assurance”.
He said the video episode will be corrected to ensure it has the right formula when uploaded to the DepEd Commons (https://commons.deped.gov.ph/) and DepEd YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/DepEdTV).
After apologizing to the learners, teachers, and parents for the mistake, Pascua assured the public that the department will tighten its quality assurance measures for the DepEd TV to be perfect.
“Salamat po sa pag-critique sa episodes ng DepEd TV. Sana huwag lang mali ang tinitignan ng bawat isa. Sana naman ay ma-recognize din ang galing at sakripisyo ng ating mga (Thank you for criticizing the DepEd TV episodes. I hope they see not only the mistakes but also recognize the skills and sacrifices of our) Teacher-Broadcasters, Production Teams and the whole DepEd TV, DepEd Commons, and DepEd YouTube Channel Teams,” he said.
If there is one good thing that was learned from the mistake, Pascua said it would be that the whole country learned that zero can never be a divisor.
“Ipinapaalam sa atin lahat na mahalaga ang pag-QA sa mga episodes at sa paulit-ulit na pag-review ng mga episodes kahit pagod at puyat na ang mga teams ng (This reminds us of the importance of quality assurance of all episodes and reviewing the episodes over and over again even if the teams are already tired and sleep-deprived) DepEd TV,” he added.