Officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) have assured that the Central Office is currently monitoring the developments regarding the investigation involving a teacher in Lubao, Pampanga, who allegedly hit three students inside a classroom.

“A fact-finding investigation is already underway,” DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas told reporters in a Viber message.

The said investigation, Bringas said, was ordered by the regional director.

In a radio interview on Radyo 630, DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa said that the DepEd Central Office has ordered the fast-tracking of an investigation involving the teacher for allegedly hitting three students.

“Iyong ating regional director ay nakapag-issue na ng order to form a fact-finding team (The regional director has issued an order to form a fact-finding team),” Poa said. “In fact, pinapa-fast track po natin iyan (We asked them to fast-track that),” he added.

In a video making rounds online, a teacher is seen hitting the Grade 9 students using her hands. The video was taken by another student inside the same classroom.

As per DepEd, the involved teacher already “apologized” for the said incident and took a personal leave.

Citing a report from the Division Office, DepEd said that its officials already reached out to the parents of the students involved to discuss the incident.

Closer look

While the Teachers' Dignity Coalition (TDC) does not condone hurting learners, the group urged the public to take a closer look at the incident.

“Kailangan nating suriin ang mga ganitong pangyayari sa kabuuan (We need to examine such incidents in their entirety),” TDC said.

For the group, many conditions affect what is called “abuse” --- including class size, congested classrooms, ventilation, student discipline, teacher workload, and the lack of a proper guidance and counseling program.

“Napapalala pa ito ng ilang mga polisiyang DepEd (Some DepEd policies worsen these conditions),” TDC said.