A lawmaker on Wednesday asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to give “clearer” information on the upcoming opening of classes to avoid further confusion among parents and students.
Pasig Representative Roman Romulo said DepEd should exert more effort on giving “clearer” information on the planned opening of School Year (SY) 2020-2021 on August 24. Romulo also the chairman of the House committee on basic education and culture.
“Kailangan maliwanag ang DepEd, yung announcement nila na ang academic calendar will start on August 24 created confusion sa magulang at bata,” Romulo told reporters via Zoom interview.
(DepEd needs to be clear, its announcement that the school calendar will start on August 24 created confusion among parents and learners.)
He added that DepEd should also clarify President Rodrigo Duterte’s “no vaccine, no classes” declaration during his public address on Monday night.
“Sana naging malinaw ang komunikasyon ng DepEd noon pa lalo na yung sa pagsisimula ng academic calendar sa August kasi hindi naman lahat ng magulang, naiitindihan ang ibig sabihin nito,” he added.
(I hope the DepEd’s communication would be more precise, especially when it comes to the start of the academic calendar because not all parents fully understood what it means.)
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The congressman said they would have a meeting with DepEd key officials on May 28, Thursday, to get more updates on the opening of classes.
“Since April, I have been meeting with them,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“We have already presented to them all our proposals,” he added.
He also said he would bring up the utmost concerns of stakeholders at the said meeting.
“In my office, we have been receiving various letters coming from parents and other stakeholders expressing their concerns on school opening, among others,” he said.
“The primordial concern really is the safety of the students,” he added.
Romulo urged DepEd to clarify if there will be no face-to-face classes by August 24.
“Ang dapat gawin ng DepEd ay simulan ng tamang mensahe sa publiko lalo na sa mga mga magulang para hindi nila ma-misinterpret yung announcements sa school opening,” he said.
(DepEd should start giving a clear message to the public, especially to the parents so they will not misinterpret the school opening announcements.)