DepEd QC: Teachers’ ‘borrowed’ laptops, gadgets have to be returned

Public school teachers in Quezon City would have to return the gadgets issued to them for the conduct of distance learning as the full face-to-face classes have already resumed, a city schools division official said Wednesday.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, QC schools division superintendent  Dr. Jenilyn Rose Corpuz said the gadgets were only lent to teachers for online classes, and they were being used by learners in schools before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Gusto ko pong ipaliwanag na noong pandemya po, dahil kailangan ng mga teachers ng ating laptops and use of laboratories, so pinahiram po ‘yung mga ‘yun na ginagamit ng mga bata during the pre-pandemic,” she said.

(During the pandemic, because the teachers needed laptops and laboratory equipment, those that were being used by students before the pandemic were lent to them.)

“Since naka-memorandum receipt sa school, kailangan na rin pong ibalik sa schools… ‘Yung issue na kailangan ibalik, kasi hiniram po,” she added.

(Since the memorandum receipt of the gadgets are under the schools, these must be returned to the schools… These must be returned because these were borrowed.)

The Deped Office of the Undersecretary for Administration Memorandum 00-0420-0029 was issued on April 2020, authorizing school heads to “release Desktop Computers, Laptops, Tablet PCs, and Smartphones to teachers for use in the conduct of online trainings and online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Among the guidelines stated in the Memorandum was that teachers “are required to return the said devices upon the resumption of regular classes.”

Starting Wednesday, November 2, all public schools are mandated to implement full face-to-face classes, except for those that are expressly provided an exemption by the regional director, those whose classes are automatically canceled due to disasters and calamities, and those implementing Alternative Delivery Modes.

Private schools, on the other hand, may continue holding either five-day face-to-face classes, a blended learning modality, or full distance learning for the rest of the academic year.

In the case of Quezon City, Corpuz said the DepEd and the local government unit are providing teachers with other laptops.

“Although hindi pa po kumpleto sa ngayon, pero continuing po ang distribution ng laptops para sa mga teachers,” she said.

(Although it is not complete yet, the distribution of laptops for teachers is continuing.)

DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said on Tuesday that "no order was made to return gadgets," based on his conversation with the NCR regional director.

The issue was raised by Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on the same day, saying they received reports from public schools in Zamboanga del Sur, Camarines Norte, Quezon City, Malabon City, and Cebu City that the laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones that had been distributed to teachers for the conduct of blended learning were being taken back by DepEd.

ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua argued that it is the DepEd’s responsibility as an employer “to provide each of its teachers with the necessary equipment for them to be able to perform their duties.”—AOL/VBL, GMA News