DepEd: Teacher who allegedly ‘bullied’ student to face administrative proceedings

The teacher who allegedly bullied a Grade 5 student in Camarines Norte during the first day of classes will face administrative proceedings, according to the Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday.

In a message to reporters, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa stressed that the agency has a zero-tolerance policy against any form of abuse.

This is in response to a viral social media post regarding a certain teacher allegedly telling a 10-year-old student some derogatory words during class hours.

Poa said officials of the school division office already met with the victim’s parents on Tuesday, August 23.

“During the meeting, the SDS emphasized that DepEd has a zero-tolerance policy against any form of abuse, and explained the courses of action to be taken against the subject teacher,” he said.

“The teacher will be subjected to administrative proceedings in accordance with our rules. The Department of Education takes these incidents very seriously,” he added.

Based on the Facebook post of Jeannie Vargas, the victim’s aunt, on Monday, the student came home from school crying and wrote in a piece of paper what the teacher allegedly said.

Written on the paper were words “bobo,” “hayop,” and “bruha ka.”

Vargas said the child was traumatized due to this incident and refrained from going to school because of fear of the teacher.

“Pano mong nasasabi mga gantong bagay sa isang 10-year old sa pinakaunang araw ng pasukan nila? Kung hindi po masaya sa pagiging guro sa mga bata, hanap na lang po ng ibang career. Wag nyong idamay mga estudyante na sumusubok pa lang lumaban sa buhay,” she said in her post.

(How could you say such things to a 10-year old on their first day of school? If you are not happy being a teacher, just look for another career. Don't mess with the students who are trying to fight in life.)

“Hindi ako yung nakaexperience pero ramdam ko yung trauma ng pamangkin ko ngayon. Hindi man pisikal, pero pinakamasakit yung maririnig mo yung mga ganitong salita sa tao na dapat nga nagtuturo sayo ng tamang asal sa labas. Yung ineexpect mo na bilang magulang, paglabas ng bahay, yung teacher yung katuwang mo sana humubog ng bata sa labas, tapos ito yung maririnig nila?” she continued.

(I'm not the one who experienced it, but I can feel the child’s trauma now. It may not be physical, but it hurts the most when you hear these words from the person who should be teaching you the right behavior. The parents expect that the teachers are their partners in honing the child when they leave the house, but this is what they hear.)

For DepEd’s part, Poa said that psychological first aid was already given to the learner by trained personnel from the school health section.

The student’s psychosocial status will also be monitored, he added.

Further, Poa said that the school head was directed to submit an incident report and a Child Protection Policy Intake Sheet to the regional director within 72 hours from the occurrence of the incident.—LDF, GMA News