The Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing for significant changes in its anti-bullying policies and tackling the shortage of guidance counselors in schools, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
The DepEd said it will soon revise the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Anti-Bullying Law.
“Well, ngayon ang gagawin namin is, ire-revise namin iyong IRR or Implementing Rules ng Bullying Law. Ako din po ang gumawa ng Anti-Bullying Law noong ako ay kongresista pa, 2012 or 2013 at ngayon parang ten years old na or eleven years old na iyong IRR niya (Well, what we will do now is revise the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) of the Bullying Law. I was also the one who crafted the Anti-Bullying Law when I was a congressman in 2012 or 2013, and now the IRR is almost ten or eleven years old),” Angara said during a television interview on Friday, Jan. 24.
“Kailangan repasuhin natin na siguro mas maging mas masinop tayo sa pagbantay ng mga bullying incidents dahil nakita natin, kahit isang dekada na ang nakaraan, hindi lahat ng eskuwelahan may anti-bullying policies. So, we will really make sure all schools have policies against bullying (We need to revise it and perhaps be more careful in monitoring bullying incidents because we have seen that even a decade later, not all schools have anti-bullying policies. So, we will really make sure all schools have policies against bullying),” he went on.
Per the agency, the revised IRR aims to ensure that all schools implement effective measures to address bullying incidents.
In addition to strengthening school policies, Angara emphasized the importance of peer reviews in dealing with bullying.
“Ang nakita nating effective at pinapayo ng mga eksperto hindi lang iyong pagpunta sa guidance counselor. Alam nating may kulang tayo, hindi lahat ng schools may guidance counselors, that’s a separate problem. Pero iyong peer review, ibig sabihin iyong tumutulong sa mga bata na na-bully or nambu-bully ay iyong mga kasamahan din nila, maybe kasama sa eskuwela, a few years ahead of them or iyong pagbibigay ng advise sa isang na-bully o kaya iyon ang magsi-share ng experiences niya (What we found to be effective and what experts advise is not just going to the guidance counselor. We know that we lack guidance counselors, and not all schools have them—that’s a separate problem. But peer review, meaning the help coming from other students who have been bullied or who have bullied, can come from their peers, maybe those a few years ahead of them, or those who give advice to a bullied student or share their own experiences),” he stated.
The DepEd chief underscored that involving students who are a few years ahead of the victims in providing advice or sharing their own experiences could play a critical role in supporting victims.
The roots of many bullying cases, he said, can be traced back to family issues, extending the problem beyond school boundaries.
“It’s important to involve the families of both the bullied and the bullies because often the origin of bullying incidents is at home. Some children may even be subject to physical or psychological abuse,” Angara added.
Also, he said that the DepEd is also facing a critical shortage of qualified guidance counselors.
Angara explained that the current licensure act mandates a master’s degree for guidance counselor positions, resulting in over 4,400 vacancies in DepEd.
“Ang problema kasi diyan is iyong under the licensure act, kailangan may master’s degree ang isang guidance counselor. Mula noong napasa iyong batas na iyon o iyong requirement na iyon, parang nabakante lahat ang thousands of guidance counseling positions (The problem is that under the licensure act, a guidance counselor is required to have a master’s degree. Since that law or requirement was passed, it seems like all the thousands of guidance counseling positions have been left vacant),” said Angara.
To address this gap, he said that the DepEd has begun upskilling school principals and teachers in counseling skills and training.