Officials fear ‘no uniform policy’ might compromise students' safety

CEBU CITY, Philippines - Two recent orders by the Department of Education (DepEd) might have inadvertently compromised public school students, some Mandaue City school officials believe. DepEd Order 45 no longer requires students to wear uniforms in public schools, while DepEd Order 19 disallows the collection of school fees during enrolment. But Mandaue City Schools Division Supervisors Milagros Ouano and Lucylin Suan said the salaries of security guards in public schools in the city were drawn from school fees. And without the guards, outsiders can easily enter school premises, they said. Prohibition At the Capitol, however, Provincial Board (PB) Members Victor Maambong and Juan Bolo filed two resolutions reiterating the prohibition of tuition collections in public schools. Maambong voiced concern over reports that many public schools still collect fees in the guise of “voluntary contributions" for scouting and parents-teachers’ associations, before registering the students. “It is noteworthy that there is an observable continued decline in the enrolment of school children in the country, which is attributed to the continued practice (of public elementary schools) collecting unwarranted school fees," said Maambong. Mandaue City Schools Superintendent Arden Monisit ordered all public school administrators to coordinate with their barangay chairpersons and ask for the tanods’ help in securing campuses. Only five national high schools in Mandaue have permanent items for security guards, said Ouano. These are in Barangays Cabancalan, Canduman, Basak, Tipolo and Maguikay. The security guard in Mandaue City Central School, where the Schools Division Office is located, may soon lose his job as his salary had been paid by the previous Parents-Teachers’ Association, said Ouano. Other public schools may also lose their guards as they can no longer afford to keep them. Monisit, for his part, has ordered school administrators to strictly implement the wearing of identification cards among students. That way, non-students can easily be recognized. Vigilant Without security guards, everybody must be vigilant, including teachers, Ouano said. Although it is an added burden to teachers, Ouano said teachers will comply “kay mahadlok sila ma-suspenso (because they are afraid of getting suspended), as it is an order." As of the moment, Ouano said the division has not experienced serious security problems, like the presence of gangs and violent fraternities inside campuses. Monisit said there is a plan for DepEd to issue IDs to students for free, which the central office is already looking into. Wrong books Meanwhile, PB Member Maambong asked DepEd in Central Visayas to institute measures to prevent the procurement of error-filled textbooks. That came amid assurances from the education department that Social Studies books with errors will not be used by students in Region 7 this school year. DepEd 7 Director Carolino Mordeno said the erroneous books have not yet been distributed. Report The journalists’ group Vera Files reported recently that the Social Studies book “Asya: Pag-usbong ng Kabihasnan" refers to Taiwan as a country separate from the People’s Republic of China, which violates the government’s one-China policy. Maambong suggested that DepEd appoint “honest and competent" individuals as members of the Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS). The IMCS will undertake the thorough review and evaluation of the proposed purchase of textbooks, he said. “We cannot expect our students to gain the right knowledge, much less, to excel in their fields of endeavor while reading error-ridden textbooks. Our students may be only as good as the textbooks they read," Maambong wrote in his motion. – Sun.Star Cebu