By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) has once again reminded the public and other stakeholders to be “guided accordingly” when it comes to pieces of information and announcements related to the education sector posted on social media.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Officials of the DepEd have issued a clarification on an infographic containing information on class cancellation in the coming days which has become viral. The said infographics citing “NO CLASSES” on November 13-15 and 16-17 is not updated.
Undersecretary and Spokesperson Annalyn Sevilla said that the said infographics is from an “old post: in the official Facebook page of DepEd. “The old post is for the 2017 ASEAN Summit held in 2017 not for this year (2019),” she explained. “Please be guided accordingly,” she added.
DepEd Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua also confirmed that the said “No Classes” infographics is an “old post” and urged netizens and other concerned individuals to be “be mindful.”
Earlier, DepEd has encouraged the stakeholders to be “more vigilant against fake news and half-truths” – particularly on announcements regarding class suspension. The DepEd also encouraged “the public to be more vigilant against fake news and half-truths, and be more discerning of information that they accept and disseminate.”
The Department further advised the public “to get verified information and announcements” of the agency on the official website, www.deped.gov.ph, official Facebook page DepEd Philippines, and official Twitter account DepEd_PH.
DepEd is among the agencies that are frequently used for posting announcements “unverified" sources, particularly regarding class suspensions. In 2016, even DepEd’s official Twitter account became a victim of “fake news” after it has mistakenly posted false information about class suspensions for schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) due to Typhoon Lawin.