PB to schools: Don’t base grades on field trips, tours
The chairman of the education committee of the Provincial Board has called on educational institutions in Cebu not to use field trips and other out-of-school activities as basis for grades.
“There should be no forced field trips,” Board Member Christopher Baricuatro said following a deadly bus accident in Tanay, Rizal last Monday.
He added that students’ safety should be the priority and paramount concern of the schools and teachers.
Anabelle Dela Cerna, vice chairperson of the Teacher’s Dignity Coalition for the Visayas, echoed Baricuatro’s statement on grades, saying it is not fair and just.
“Using the student’s participation in field trips as basis for giving grades or failing the students is not proper and is unjust. Teachers cannot force the students in joining field trips, more so, cannot use them as an excuse to fail or pass the students,” Dela Cerna told The FREEMAN.
Although, Dela Cerna said field trips and other out-of-school activities somehow form part of the grades because of points or incentives given, but they should not be the sole and primary basis.
Based on the grading system, she said there are lots of ways in coming up with the grades, such as quizzes, major examinations and other school-related participation, not necessarily field trips.
Both Baricuatro and Dela Cerna, however, noted that field trips are also part of the learning process of the students.
“Importante man pud ang field trips kay naa man silay makatonan nga dili ma-learn sa classroom, “Baricuatro said.
Dela Cerna, for her part, said field trips are among the strategies to attain quality education.
Field trips and historical tours are effective strategies to attain quality education. They are some of the ways to make education realistic and give students true to life experiences, which are basically the essence of quality education,” she said.
She said all school activities must be done with “utmost care and preparation.”
They, however, agreed that what happened in Tanay was purely an accident.
Dela Cerna said no one should be blamed for the tragic incident.
“The accident happened because of vehicular issues. Those people whose jobs were to make sure the bus was in good condition should be responsible. If the teachers have not done their responsibilities well, they should also be responsible. But blaming them for such accident is not fair and just,” she said.
She was referring to a tourist bus, carrying mostly students and teachers of Bestlink Colleges of the Philippines, which slammed into a concrete lamppost in Tanay, Rizal last Monday killing at least 15 people, including 13 students, a school staff and the bus driver. About 40 students were also seriously injured.
They were en route to a three-day medical and survival training in Sacramento Adventure Camp in Tanay as part of their National Service Training Program subject.
The Commission on Higher Education en banc issued a moratorium on field trips following a proposal by Commissioner Prospero de Vera III to disallow field trips in private and public colleges and universities until the investigation into the tragedy is completed.
But unlike the CHED that suspended all field trips for public and private colleges and universities, the Department of Education order only covers public elementary and high schools.
The moratorium on field trips and educational tours would be in effect until the opening of classes in June to allow the agency to review existing policies and harmonize the implementing details across the regions.
DepEd explained that the exclusion of private schools from the moratorium is due to the direct responsibilities of private schools in the conduct of their activities.
Earlier, DepEd reiterated that participating in field trips or educational tours is not mandatory.
It also called on school officials to verify the proper registration and road worthiness of the buses or vehicles to be used and ensure that the drivers have the appropriate know-how and frame of mind when on the road.