OF SAFE SCHOOLS AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

NERISSA C. MIRANDA

The Department of Education is reiterating its strong commitment in maintaining the neutrality of schools as zones of peace to ensure that learners and teachers are in an environment conducive to learning and free from harm, through DepEd Order No. 44, series of 2005, or the Declaration of Schools as Zones of Peace.

DepEd has long been implementing the policy on safe schools. Schools that are established and registered with DepEd, whether public or private, are safe from any military visitors and activities.

The DepEd, the Department of National Defense (DND), and other national government agencies fully support and are signatories of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD).

The SSD, an international initiative, was crafted and developed through consultations among various states as “an inter-governmental political commitment that provides countries the opportunity to express support for protecting students, teachers, schools, and universities from attack during times of armed conflict; the importance of the continuation of education during armed conflict; and the implementation of concrete measures to deter the military use in schools.”

Aside from ensuring that no armed conflict or personnel are allowed near and within the premises of a learning environment, the DepEd emphasized that it strongly implements policies that safeguard learners from incidences of bullying and physical violence.

Bullying is forbidden and there is a protocol for handling cases of bullying. Hazing is also forbidden, physical acts of violence, whether among the children, or as sometimes claimed from teachers, or from children to their teachers, these undesirable actions are all forbidden.

The Department is also aware that because of the rapid globalizing state of society, advancing lessons in global citizenship is important in order to have platforms for meaningful exchange, where people can learn each other’s history, culture and circumstances to foster greater respect and tolerance for each other’s identity.

Through partnerships, DepEd is sending teachers to visit other countries to get vital insights which they can use for the betterment of the educational syst em.

Peace, security, and global citizenship are already in the curriculum and the DepEd is further strengthening it, especially in terms of instructional materials, ways of teaching, and even the use of films, dances, and other forms of art in order to transmit these ideas and concepts to learners.

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The author is Teacher III at Sta. Lucia Elementary School, Sta. Ana District.