HAPPY FACES
A woman wearing a face mask guides to the front of the stage two ‘robots’ with faces of new graduates displayed on the screen of their iPad heads during the 10th commencement exercises of the Sen. Renato ‘Compañero’ Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School in Taguig City on May 22, 2020. The two are among the 179 elementary and senior high school students represented in the ceremony by robots.
THE Taguig City government found an ingenious way to hold graduation ceremonies for students amid the coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid- 19) pandemic in one of its public schools.
For the first time, the Senator Renato “Compañero” Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School staged the “Cyber-Graduation Ceremonies” for its 179 students with the help of four remote-controlled robots that wore togas to receive the diplomas for the graduates on Friday.
As the robots went up on stage, the faces of the students appeared as the heads while their names were called.
The graduates themselves and their families watched the ceremonies from their homes via livestream on Facebook, which were also simultaneously displayed on an LED screen.
The Taguig Robotics Team, which won several gold medals at international competitions, developed the project that used four remote- controlled robots made from recycled materials. Ma y o r Lino Cayetano said the safety of the students was their primordial priority that was why the city government found a way to conduct the momentous event while observing health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“We know how deeply symbolic a graduation ceremony is for graduates and their parents,” he added.
“This is why we came up with a program that can help them celebrate their accomplishment while respecting health standards and policies during the Covid-19 community quarantine,” he said.
Cash incentive
The city government said 16,923 graduates of Batch 2020 would also receive incentives from the city government.
“We wanted to incentivize their achievements. Thus, we decided to give them cash incentives that can be beneficial to their families in these difficult times,” said Cayetano.
Under the cash incentive program, 12,931 Grade 6 graduates will receive P1,000 each. Meanwhile, P1,500 will go to 3,276 students graduating from Grade 12.
Those cited for academic excellence will continue receiving the incentives given in the past school years.
Students who ranked first in each of the 24 public elementary and 13 high schools in Taguig will receive P15,000, while those ranked second will get P12,500.
The rest of the Top 10 in Grades 6 and 12 will each receive P5,000 and P7,500, respectively.
Students who topped their sections will also get incentives. At least 269 Grade 6 and 77 Grade 12 graduates will each get P2,500 and P5,000.