DepEd provides psychosocial support
ILOILO CITY – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced that it will provide psychosocial interventions to the individuals affected by the death of a Grade 10 learner from Maasin, Iloilo, on May 10.
“The Child Protection Committee (CPC) of the said school is set to conduct psychosocial interventions for affected peers and teachers close to the said learner,” the DepEd said in a statement on Monday.
It added that school officials concerned are also coordinating with appropriate authorities, noting that official police reports and findings concerning the circumstances surrounding the learner’s death are still pending.
DepEd also appealed to the public to refrain from spreading unconfirmed narratives as a sign of respect to the bereaved family of the student.
Leonil Salvilla, spokesperson of the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Iloilo, told The Manila Times that they received the incident report from the school last Friday.
“Immediately, our superintendent requested the school heads to convene the CPC since it was claimed that the cause of death was due to low grades in one of the subjects of the student,” he said.
Under a DepEd order, each school is mandated to create a CPC to address various forms of abuse. Its membership includes school administrators, counselors, teachers, parents, community representatives, and a student representative.
An alleged note from the student before his death and a report card issued by the school circulated on social media over the weekend.
In the report card, the student received initial grades of 64 and 69 in the first and second quarters, respectively, for the subject Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan.
Salvilla confirmed that the school has issued a temporary report card but emphasized that it was only temporary and intended to update parents on their child’s current academic standing.
“As initial information from the school head, the report card provided was temporary because the student still has some academic requirements to fulfill. [...] It served as an initial update for parents regarding their child’s status, pending completion of the required tasks,” he said.
While the teacher involved is continuing her regular classes, Salvilla said the school has already requested that she also receive psychosocial support.
Salvilla likewise encouraged students to reach out to health and nutrition unit personnel available in their schools if they encounter personal or familial challenges.
“In cases where schools require psychosocial support, the SDO Iloilo has already established, even before the pandemic, what we call psychological first aiders, who provide psychosocial support to learners and school personnel affected by abuse or calamities,” he added.