Concerned parent points out ‘Banana Rice Tereces’ error in Grade 7 textbook

Banana or Banaue? PHOTO: ABS-CBN News
Banana or Banaue? PHOTO: ABS-CBN News

Parents of students in a private school here have expressed disappointment after finding erroneous information on some textbooks their children use in class.

Esther, not her real name, is worried about the book being used by her daughter who is in 7th grade.

On page 103 of the “MAPEH in Action” book, the Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao was erroneously called the “Banana Rice Tereces.”

The Department of Education earlier confirmed seeing the same error in a textbook used in public schools.

“I was concerned why my daughter said there’s a banana rice terraces. How come this was not corrected?” Esther said in Filipino on an interview by ABS-CBN News.

Esther added that children are learning wrong information about culture and geography.

“This is used by the children and they’re in their growing up years, so this will build more or less their idea or concept about things. Feeding wrong information to children is dangerous,” she added.

Last year, a book from the Department of Education (DepEd) also had erroneous information about Igorots, describing them as short, dark-skinned and curly-haired.

The DepEd regional office said it has resolved the problem.

The department released a memorandum order last Sept. 28 requiring all private schools in the region to evaluate the books before using them as a tool for learning to avoid misinformation.

This is to ensure that the information being provided to students are factual.

Institutions who will fail to adhere to the said order will not be issued a permit to operate or would not be recognized.

“They will not be given certification if the books they provide to students are erroneous. That’s one of the requirements of DepEd,” said DepEd information officer Georaloy Palao-ay.

The Regional Development Council also suggested to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) – Cordillera to send errata to some of the private schools.

“The RDC said the NCIP to write to publishing companies to call their attention and, if possible, take appropriate action if they fail to make corrections,” Palao-ay added.

It said textbooks with wrong information should be submitted to them for investigation.

The original story was published on ABS-CBN News Online, minor changes were made by Coconuts Manila editors.



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