DepEd reminds officials that schools should be ‘zones of peace’

The Department of Education on Monday reminded its field officials and school heads to strictly enforce the national policy framework on learners and schools as zones of peace, after uniformed personnel were seen inside a school in Pangasinan on the first day of face-to-face classes in the country.

According to DepEd, schools as a general rule should be free from the presence of armed combatants, whether they be from government forces or armed groups. Armed force protection units from government forces, if needed, shall be situated proximate to the school and not inside the school.

Assistant minority leader and ACT Teachers Representative France Castro slammed the entry of military personnel in Longos Elementary School on Monday.

"Schools should be safe spaces for learning and free thinking. The entry of armed police and military personnel inside the elementary school can cause trauma to children, especially kindergarten students," Castro said.

"We are appalled by the sight of having police and military personnel with long armed weapons inside the classrooms. Their presence would also have negative effects on our teachers and other school personnel from hampering in the fulfilment of their duties to harassment and intimidation," she added.

Castro also urged the DepEd to investigate why armed police and military personnel were able to enter the school.

In a statement, the DepEd said that the presence of uniformed personnel— equipped with their issued firearm—inside Longos Elementary School was part of the security detail of a local official who visited the school.

"DepEd shall work together with our stakeholders to ensure that our guidelines on Schools as Zones of Peace, where our learners feel safe, secured, and nurtured, are observed," it said.

Pilot testing of face-to-face classes started Monday in several areas in the country amid the pandemic.

A total of 100 public schools are participating in the pilot run subject to strict health protocols. — BM, GMA News