DepEd directs nearby schools to accept Taal-affected learners
Published Jan 17, 2020 12:00 am
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
To help ensure the continued education of displaced learners, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued emergency measures in response to the eruption of Taal volcano.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones
(DepEd / MANILA BULLETIN) Education Secretary Leonor Briones issued DepEd Memorandum No. 003, s. 2020 which contained emergency measures in response to the eruption of Taal volcano. In the directive, she reiterated DepEd’s commitment to “reach out to learners wherever they may be” and to “ensure that their education proceeds.” Briones said that all public schools where displaced learners from Region IV-A will seek to be accommodated are “directed to accept these emergency transferees even with the unavailability or insufficiency of the required transfer credentials.” Education to continue DepEd said that all nearby unaffected schools were also urged to accept transferees coming from Taal-affected schools “even without credentials to ensure learning continuity.” Based on DepEd monitoring, the ongoing effects of the eruption of Taal Volcano, which started on January 12, “resulted in massive evacuation of the local population to nearby cities and municipalities.” In the face of emergencies, Briones noted that DepEd remains committed to ensure that their learning will continue. After consultation with key officials of the DepEd in the affected regions, particularly DepEd Region IV-A, DepEd issued the Emergency Measures in Response to the Eruption of Taal Volcano which was instituted to “address the dislocation of basic education learners from their school of origin, the significant safety concerns in other affected areas, and other implications of the eruption of Taal Volcano on school operations.” Aside from directing unaffected public schools to accommodate emergency transferees, Briones also directed receiving schools to “collect and record the relevant learner information” - including the full name, age, address, and Learner Reference Number (LRN), if known, school of origin, receiving school, and such other information that will assist in easy record reconciliation in “order to track the emergency transferees.” Briones also noted that Schools Division Offices (SDOs) with knowledge of evacuation centers within their respective areas were instructed to “deploy available teaching and non-teaching personnel to conduct inventory of school-age children and in consultation with the learners and their guardians, facilitate their endorsement to receiving schools or the organization of other appropriate modes of instruction delivery.” Meanwhile, the receiving schools and/or schools divisions were also enjoined to “conduct needs assessment to enable them to meet the requirements of the emergency transferees, including additional learning materials, teachers, psychological intervention, temporary learning spaces, and other special needs, and prepare a corresponding budget estimate for the provision of such needs.” “All receiving schools and/or schools divisions shall submit to their respective SDOs the collected learners’ data, budgetary and in-kind requirements, and reports on action taken for consolidation and submission to their respective regional offices (ROs), and subsequently to the Office of the Secretary for any needed appropriate action,” Briones said. “The said reports may include information on DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel directly affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano,” she added. Briones also asked affected schools and schools divisions to “facilitate and coordinate the updating of school records once school operations in the affected areas have normalized.” DepEd, through its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS), in coordination with relevant ROs and SDOs, were also directed to “continue gathering field reports to determine all other relief and rehabilitation needs for endorsement to and action by the appropriate DepEd offices.” Briones also directed DepEd’s External Partnerships Service (EPS) at the Central Office to “mobilize support from the private sector to augment the resources coming from DepEd through the applicable mechanisms under existing laws, rules, and regulations.” Likewise, the agency’s Curriculum and Instruction (CI) Strand was instructed to provide Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) materials and the Information and Communication Technology Service (ICTS) to make available online the Open Education Resources (OER) to concerned teachers and employees, especially in evacuation centers. “Both should include learning and teaching materials on Taal Volcano, volcanic eruptions, volcanic ash, and other related information making this incident a learning opportunity for learners and teachers,” she said. Briones said her office will also “continue to monitor developments arising from the eruption of Taal Volcano, coordinate with the DepEd Region IV-A and DepEd field units and undertake other actions and initiatives needed.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones(DepEd / MANILA BULLETIN) Education Secretary Leonor Briones issued DepEd Memorandum No. 003, s. 2020 which contained emergency measures in response to the eruption of Taal volcano. In the directive, she reiterated DepEd’s commitment to “reach out to learners wherever they may be” and to “ensure that their education proceeds.” Briones said that all public schools where displaced learners from Region IV-A will seek to be accommodated are “directed to accept these emergency transferees even with the unavailability or insufficiency of the required transfer credentials.” Education to continue DepEd said that all nearby unaffected schools were also urged to accept transferees coming from Taal-affected schools “even without credentials to ensure learning continuity.” Based on DepEd monitoring, the ongoing effects of the eruption of Taal Volcano, which started on January 12, “resulted in massive evacuation of the local population to nearby cities and municipalities.” In the face of emergencies, Briones noted that DepEd remains committed to ensure that their learning will continue. After consultation with key officials of the DepEd in the affected regions, particularly DepEd Region IV-A, DepEd issued the Emergency Measures in Response to the Eruption of Taal Volcano which was instituted to “address the dislocation of basic education learners from their school of origin, the significant safety concerns in other affected areas, and other implications of the eruption of Taal Volcano on school operations.” Aside from directing unaffected public schools to accommodate emergency transferees, Briones also directed receiving schools to “collect and record the relevant learner information” - including the full name, age, address, and Learner Reference Number (LRN), if known, school of origin, receiving school, and such other information that will assist in easy record reconciliation in “order to track the emergency transferees.” Briones also noted that Schools Division Offices (SDOs) with knowledge of evacuation centers within their respective areas were instructed to “deploy available teaching and non-teaching personnel to conduct inventory of school-age children and in consultation with the learners and their guardians, facilitate their endorsement to receiving schools or the organization of other appropriate modes of instruction delivery.” Meanwhile, the receiving schools and/or schools divisions were also enjoined to “conduct needs assessment to enable them to meet the requirements of the emergency transferees, including additional learning materials, teachers, psychological intervention, temporary learning spaces, and other special needs, and prepare a corresponding budget estimate for the provision of such needs.” “All receiving schools and/or schools divisions shall submit to their respective SDOs the collected learners’ data, budgetary and in-kind requirements, and reports on action taken for consolidation and submission to their respective regional offices (ROs), and subsequently to the Office of the Secretary for any needed appropriate action,” Briones said. “The said reports may include information on DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel directly affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano,” she added. Briones also asked affected schools and schools divisions to “facilitate and coordinate the updating of school records once school operations in the affected areas have normalized.” DepEd, through its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS), in coordination with relevant ROs and SDOs, were also directed to “continue gathering field reports to determine all other relief and rehabilitation needs for endorsement to and action by the appropriate DepEd offices.” Briones also directed DepEd’s External Partnerships Service (EPS) at the Central Office to “mobilize support from the private sector to augment the resources coming from DepEd through the applicable mechanisms under existing laws, rules, and regulations.” Likewise, the agency’s Curriculum and Instruction (CI) Strand was instructed to provide Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) materials and the Information and Communication Technology Service (ICTS) to make available online the Open Education Resources (OER) to concerned teachers and employees, especially in evacuation centers. “Both should include learning and teaching materials on Taal Volcano, volcanic eruptions, volcanic ash, and other related information making this incident a learning opportunity for learners and teachers,” she said. Briones said her office will also “continue to monitor developments arising from the eruption of Taal Volcano, coordinate with the DepEd Region IV-A and DepEd field units and undertake other actions and initiatives needed.”