Mandatory on-site work is ‘complying with gov’t order’- DepEd

MANILA, Philippines, April 20 ------ The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday, April 19, said that they are complying with the government order when they mandated all teachers report to schools that are under Alert Level 1. At a press briefing on Tuesday, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the on-site work for teachers is a “requirement of the IATF (COVID-19 task force) for regions and sites where the classification is already under Alert Level 1 and 2.”

“Ang polisiya naman po talaga ay ang official station ng ating mga guro ay paraalan. Nauunawaan po natin na may mga internet connectivity issues pero ito ay sa pagkaunawa ko po ay ginagawan na ito ng paraan ng mga paaralan,” San Antonio said. The DepEd’s statement comes after teachers urged the agency to recall its order for mandatory onsite work, stressing that the policy defeats the purpose of remote teaching. They pointed out the many schools don’t have stable internet connection for them to do their job.

“We call on the DepEd to halt the implementation of DM 29, Series of 2022 and start the consultation in the field. We are not against physical reporting, in fact gusto na natin ng [we also want] face-to-face classes. But a 100% physical reporting for modular and online tasks simply defeats logic,” Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chairperson Benjo Basas said.Latest data from the DepEd showed that there are 13,692 public and private schools holding limited face-to-face classes. This is less than a quarter of some 60,000 basic education schools in the country. Latest data from the DepEd showed that there are 13,692 public and private schools holding limited face-to-face classes. This is less than a quarter of some 60,000 basic education schools in the country.

Source: rappler.com