Wednesday, September 14, 2011

DepEd warns the public on all forms of violence against children in school

DepEd, July 13, 2011

The Department of Education will soon come out with a more comprehensive child protection policy to shield the child against abuse, exploitation and discrimination including bullying and other forms of violence against children in school. 

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said school personnel and the public in general must be reminded that corporal punishment and violence in any form is not allowed in public schools whether committed by adults or the children’s peers.

 “We reiterate that school personnel who commit such acts are violating the provisions of Batas Pambansa 232 and that they can be held criminally liable including dismissal from the service,” added Luistro. 

On the other hand, Republic Act 7610 listed down acts that constitute child abuse and are therefore considered a criminal offense. This includes psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment. Also included is any act by deeds or words which debase, degrade or demean the worth and dignity of a child; unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival such as food and shelter; as well as failure to immediately give medical treatment to an injured child resulting to serious impairment of his growth, permanent incapacity or death.

In view of this, DepEd as early as 2006 issued DepEd Memo 297 Prohibiting Acts Constituting Violations of RA 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and the Family Code to set a limit on the substitute parental authority being exercised by some DepEd authorities. 

The order specified that substitute parental authority can only be exercised within the school premises and it shall be exercised only to protect and promote the physical, mental and moral well-being of the students.

To further strengthen the campaign against child abuse in school, DepEd is developing a more comprehensive policy in consultation with teachers and other stakeholders. 

“This is a serious matter that we  cannot put off nor delay because it involves the over-all well being of our learners which  when not addressed promptly may negatively affect them for life,” said Luistro. 

The proposed policy will cover measures to prevent abuses against children in the school and the processes to be observed when abuses are committed. It will also include the procedures to follow and possible referral to other concerned agencies. 

 Meanwhile, DepEd expresses its supports to the anti-bullying bill of Senator Antonio Trillanes which seeks to institutionalize its teaching in schools and the creation of public awareness on its ill-effects on child development. This is consistent with the mandate of DepEd which puts premium on child safety in schools while providing an environment conducive to learning.

DepEd also believes that addressing the issue on bullying in school cannot be simply addressed by dismissing or suspending the offending child because it requires a more thorough approach that involves both the school and the parents to be able to get to the root of why a child resorts to bullying. Oftentimes, bullying is a manifestation of problems that stem at home.      

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

where can we complain if the teacher committed abuse to a student? may incident po kasi sa school ng anak ko, yung grade 4 pupil nilagyan ng packaging take sa mouth then ipinaikot sa ulo, then the next day tinalian naman ng packaging tape ulit ang mga kamay ng bata? may pananagutan po ba dito yung teacher?

The Learning Captain said...

Sa ganito pong pagkakataon ay una sa lahat ay sa principal po kayo maaaring magreklamo upang ito ay dinggin ng School Grievance Committee kung saan, ang principal ang chairman.

Mangyari rin po na inyo po munang kausapin ang gurong nabanggit upang malaman po ninyo kung bakit n'ya nagawa ang bagay na iyon.

Bagamat, hindi nararapat sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon, marahil ay may dahilan po o may mga pangyayari na nagdulot upang magawa niya ang bagay na iyon.

Hinggil po sa katanungan ninyo kung may pananagutan ang guro sa nabanggit na pangyayari ay meron naman po.

Nawa po ay magkaroon ng magandang bunga ang inyong pag-uusap at nawa ay ma-settle na agad ito ng hindi na lumalabas pa sa loob ng inyong paaralan at pamayanan.

Anonymous said...

Hello...can i ask the advantages of this RA 7610 because as i understand, i guess nowadays more youths commited crimes...

Unknown said...

Republic Act 7610;;special law or child protection.against child abuse. at para nmn po sa mga youth commited by crimes..depende po s nacomit ng bata kng ganu ito kbigat''my mga ahensya pdin po tau na nangangalaga s mga batang ito bahang dinidinig ang kaso nila at hanggang s tumungtong sila s tamang edad upang papanagutin ang s knilang kasalan,,my mga batang gumagwa ng krimen dpande pdin po s likod ng tunay n pangyayari maaring may sakot s kaso n gumagamit ng mga minor d edad s kadahilanang hindi maaaring ikulong ang mga minor pero ang katotohanang mabunyag ang gnitong gwain may maraming kragdagang kaso s mga skot sa krimen..

Anonymous said...

Ano pong dpat gawin pag iniipit ng school ang form137?kahit nagreklamo n kmi s deped.kailangan p po bang kumuha kmi ng abogado namin?di po b kaya ng deped nlng ang mag ayos.

Anonymous said...

I need your advise kasi wla ng magulang yung mga bata only the grand mother will taking care of 4kids.please send a msg to my email add.asianbluemilan@yahoo.com if u have any question regarding s problema.salamat po