Field trips may resume
Higher education institutions may now resume field trips and other off-campus activities, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) announced.
These activities were suspended in February, following the deadly bus mishap that killed 14 college students and the bus driver in Rizal province.
CHEd Commissioner Prospero de Vera said the suspension was lifted on August 8.
The commission, however, has tightened regulations and issued new guidelines on the conduct of off-campus activities to ensure the safety of students in the tertiary level.
Under the new guidelines, public and private colleges and universities are required to ensure that there are designated faculty or persons who will monitor the students’ activities outside the university as well as provide insurance for students.
The commission also tasked the higher education institutions (HEIs) to check the registration, insurance, franchise and road worthiness of the vehicles used to transport the students. They should also coordinate with local government units to thwart future accidents.
De Vera said the commission also asked the HEIs to require written consent from the students’ parents and medical clearance from participating students.
For students who cannot attend off-campus activities, HEIs are mandated to provide alternative activities for them.
“All activities that will require students to go out of their school, we have tightened the regulations,” De Vera said. “We want to make sure that students are protected.”