DepEd stresses child protection

Education Secretary Leonor Briones PHOTO BY JOVIC YEE

THE DEPARTMENT of Education has reiterated the need for all public and private schools to create a child protection committee (CPC) and ensure all cases of abuse are closely monitored and investigations conducted expeditiously.

“Children must be protected from all forms of abuse and violence, and schools must provide an environment that is safe, free from fear and conducive to learning,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement.

The creation of CPCs is provided for under DepEd Order No. 40 issued in 2012 on its Child Protection Policy.

The emphasis on the establishment of a CPC in all schools was made after the department called attention to two incidents in Iriga City, where two students were hit by their teachers.

Briones said the agency cannot condone the use of corporal punishment carried out by a teacher, a school administrator, an adult or any student who has been given authority for punishment or discipline, for an alleged or actual offense.

For school year 2014-15, there were 11,448 incidents of bullying and 2,706 cases of child abuse were reported to the DepEd. Jocelyn R. Uy