BREATH OF FRESH AIR
RICA BIANCA M. SANTOS
House Bill 58 or the “Teacher Protection Act of 2016,” is a breath of fresh air for teachers as it seeks to strengthen the protection of public school teachers and personnel against allegations of child ab u se.
In fact, the House committee on basic education and culture has approved this bill last year. It aims to amend Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”
Teachers face students every day, doing their duty to deliver quality education to students. But how can they be effective in their mandate to impart knowledge when they don’t have the support mechanisms?
Schools should have effective methods of instilling discipline among its students, with guidance counselors acting as support personnel to teachers.
In short, it is not only the students who should be protected, but teachers, too.
Under the proposed measure, any act committed by a teacher or a staff pursuant to disciplinary rules and procedure issued by the Department of Education (DepEd) would not be deemed as child abuse, cruelty, or exploitation as defined in Republic Act No. 7610.
The proposed measure also seeks to lay down institutional support mechanisms for teachers and school personnel in matters of classroom management and discipline, including legal assistance for school teachers and school staff, as well as training on classroom management and child discipline.
The proposed measure also mandates the government to implement in all public schools clearly defined regulations on appropriate student behavior towards other students, teachers, and school staff during classes, and within and outside school premises.
DepEd, according to the measure, should issue policies and principles on student discipline and classroom management, which would govern all Division-level student manuals.
B 58 further instructs DepEd to formulate a student manual to be implemented in all schools under its jurisdiction, which should conform to the guidelines established.