PH education faces crisis over school violence

National

THE Phippine education is facing an emergency brought by the spate of violence in schools, said Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

Angara said that on top of the learning crisis, violence in school is another crisis that the country is dealing with.

“I think there are definitely aspects of our education system that need to be rescued in the ER. It’s an emergency. That’s why the Marcos administration prioritized this. Definitely, we had our first shooting in Tacloban a few weeks ago. It’s a game changer. This is the first time in the Philippines and now we’re conducting active shooter drills,” said Angara in an interview with The STAR’s Truth On The Line on Monday, Aug. 3.

In the Tacloban incident, three students were killed, while more than 20 others were wounded after two minors aged 15 and 14 entered two classrooms and opened fire at the San Jose National High School on June 22.

The recent violence happened on Friday, July 31, in Las Piñas National High School, where a 13-year-old Grade 9 student was fatally stabbed by his 14-year-old classmate.

Angara said the Department of Education (DepEd) is taking measures to adress the alarming situation.

“But I think it’s just reactive. We must also be preventive in our scope. We address the deeper, more complex problems. Usually there are family issues, social media issues, issues in handling the school community, bullying, family problems… It’s a very complex phenomenon, school violence, but I think what our parents want is a safer environment,” Angara added.

Angara urged school authorities to be aware of red flags or risk factors to prevent violence in schools.

“If we see a child’s behavior is changing – not engaging, absences, getting into arguments with classmates – maybe there’s an aspect that our educators and non-teaching staff must be better at spotting some of these warning signs so it doesn’t escalate to a point where it will become violence. Because adolescence is a very

turbulent period for many individuals,” Angara said.

Angara said bullying and social media contribute to the violence among learners.

“We should treat them not just as students, but also as members of a larger family or community and have a more caring attitude,” Angara said.

Security in schools has been intensified to prevent more violence from happening, Angara said.

“We are also strict on security aspects, dealing with security, like having better security protocols, having CCTVs, having metal detectors, fixing the fences and coordinating with other government agencies. So, when it comes to peace and order, of course you’re talking about the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of the Interior and Local Government and local barangay officials. Coordination is important,” Angara added.

He said the DepEd and concerned authorities are also monitoring the nihilistic violent extremist groups, which are on the lookout for disillusioned, depressed, angry youth.

“The aim is to recruit them and to do violent acts. So, we need to monitor this. The PNP experts, DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) and DOJ (Department of Justice) already explained this. These are networks which have worked for many years dealing with things like sexual harassment, trafficking, etc. So now, these networks are expanding and targeting the youth for violence, terrorism, things like that,” Angara said.

With this, Angara is supporting calls for a measure limiting the exposure of minors to social media.

He added that the use of cellphones inside classrooms is prohibited in all schools nationwide.

“If ever, the cellphones can only be used during recess, dismissal, but as long as they’re on school time or class time, they cannot use a cellphone,” he said.(MyTVCebu)