MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said it was not informed by the Colegio de San Lorenzo in Quezon City of its intent to close.
This makes it a “voluntary closure,” DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said.
“As per our protocols, the DepEd will only issue an acknowledgement of closure once we are assured that the transfer credentials of the affected students are processed and released by the school,” he told reporters in a Viber message.
The Colegio de San Lorenzo announced its permanent closure on Aug. 15, Monday, the same day it was supposed to start classes for the school year 2022-2023.
This drew outrage from students and parents.
The school management explained the move was “due to the financial instability and lack of financial viability brought about by the ongoing pandemic and exacerbated by consistent low enrollment turnout over the past years.”
Poa said that since the Colegio de San Lorenzo is a private school, it is yet to explore any form of assistance DepEd can provide for its teachers.
He, however, assured that the teachers, who are terminated due to the voluntary closure, are entitled to separation pay.
“As to any form of assistance that the DepEd can provide, we will explore this. But again, I have to emphasize that these are private school teachers,” he said.
READ: Colegio de San Lorenzo in QC announces permanent closure