Graduation for Grade 6 and 12

THE traditional graduation ceremony for Grade 6 became a controversial issue when the Department of Education (DepEd) pronounced that only Grade 12 will hold graduation exercise and the rest which include Kindergarten, Grade 6 and Grade 10 to only have Moving Up or Completion Ceremony.

However, few days after, DepEd issued a rectification of the previous unnumbered Memorandum and pronounced with finality that the closing program for Grade 6 will be a Graduation Ceremony. Below is the official pronouncement of DepEd:

The Department of Education (DepEd) wishes to clarify that its original issuance of DepEd Order No. 2, series 2019 (School Year 2018-2019 K to 12 Basic Education Program End of School Year Rites) dated February 18, stating that Grade 6 completers of the current school year shall have a graduation ceremony, is the correct and agreed upon Order of the agen cy.

This original Order by the Secretary has in fact already been circulated before an unauthorized change— from “graduation” to “moving-up” ceremony for Grade 6 learners— was done by personnel who, in good faith, believed they were only making a correction.

However, the matter of shifting the end-of-year ceremony for Grade 6 learners from graduation to moving up is still under discussion by the Department, and no decision to shift has yet been made. Should a decision to change be made, it will not be implemented this school year to allow sufficient time for information and preparation by field units.

Thus, the change was not only unauthorized; it was also without b asi s.

The Department today issued DepEd Memorandum No. 25, series 2019 (Graduation Ceremony for Grade 6 Completers in School Year 2018-2019) to reinstate the original Order.

DepEd assures its stakeholders that it is taking measures to ensure that incidents similar to this will not happen again.

This Corner hopes that this statement will stop the public from further issuing statements contrary to what was written in the DepEd Memo No. 25, s. 2019 and that they will instead wish that this year, graduates and completers will move forward to the next level of education or exits in the senior high school prior to the realization of their bright future.