MANILA — The Department of Education is crafting a policy that would reduce the teaching load of educators to give them more time to focus on the “psychosocial well being” of students, an official said on Friday.
The policy was drafted after several school shooting incidents gripped the Philippines this year, leaving several students dead and injured.
“Bumabalangkas kami ngayon ng mga patakaran at polisiya kung pwedeng bawasan yung teaching load ng teachers natin para sa ganon makatutok sila sa psychosocial well being nang kanilang mag-aaral,” Education Undersecretary Malcolm Garma told state television PTV.
Garma did not give details about the policy, but said that DepEd also sees a need to broaden its digital safety programs for students and school personnel.
“Nakita natin na hindi lang yung pisikal na paghahanda ng mga paaralan ang kailangan natin para maiwasan ang mga shooting incident sa mga paaralan,” he said.
“Nakita natin na malaking bahagi ng impluwensya sa mga mag-aaral, especially yung perpetrators, ay may kinalaman sa online, sa kanilang pagsama sa mga online groups,” he said.
“Mayroon na tayong nakalatag na sanctions sa ating mga mag-aaral na mapapatunayang involved sa cyberbullying,” he said.
The module will not be implemented as a separate subject, but will be integrated across learning systems, he said.