AROUND 10,018 public schools have no localized anti-bullying policy despite being required by Republic Act 10627, passed in 2013. This is according to Department of Education officials during a House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education hearing today, November 13.
The hearing, presided over by Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo, discussed the status of anti-bullying policies in DepEd schools.
Data presented by EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee illustrated how bullying affects student performance. Data from international assessments (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), Grade 4 students who were bullied suffered severe dips in their performance in math and science.
“Students who were never bullied scored 351 in math, while those who reported being bullied weekly scored 269. In science, those who were not bullied scored 318, while those who reported being bullied weekly scored 214”, Yee said.
“Aside from depriving our students of a safe school environment, there really are tangible effects of bullying among our students. As we can see with the TIMSS 2019 data, student performance in the classroom is severely affected”, he said.
This is confirmed by various international assessments including the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) which show that the highest prevalence of bullying is in the Philippines. In 2022, data showed that 43% of girls and 53% of boys reported being the victim of bullying at least a few times a month. This is double the OECD average of 20% and 21% for girls and boys respectively.
Newest bill to address lack of guidance counselors
In previous hearings, EDCOM 2 flagged the severe lack of guidance counselors nationwide. Dr. Yee noted that, based on the Commission’s computations, it will take fourteen years to fill the gap in guidance counselors, at the current rate the country is producing them. DepEd shared that it has 4,460 vacancies of guidance counselors nationwide, with some regions— specifically MIMAROPA and Region 8— having no graduates in Masters and Guidance and Counseling since 2018.
“One of the points of EDCOM 2 is the lack of guidance counselors. The enrolled bill (SBN 2200 and HBN 6574) has already been submitted to Malacanang yesterday (November 12). Under the new Mental Health and Well-Being Act, we will now allow not only guidance counselors (who are required to have Master’s degrees), we will allow psychologists, graduates of allied courses with at least 18 units of behavioral science”, Rep. Romulo reported.
“Plus, kung registered guidance counselor or psychologist ka…the career path is clearer now. Under the proposed measure, the salary grade will be from SG 16 to 24. We now have thirty days – either it will lapse into law, signed, or vetoed”, he said.
Amendments to Anti-Bullying IRR pushed
“According to studies and consultations conducted by EDCOM 2, the law made in 2013 is not the problem. The problem is with the IRR of DepEd [DepEd Order No. 55, series of 2013]. It must be amended. The law itself is good, the problem is with the IRR”, Rep. Romulo said.
During the hearing, EDCOM shared its initial recommendations to revise the IRR, arising from extensive consultations with teachers, parents and students nationwide. This includes (1) clearly defining the definition of the different types of bullying and the prohibited acts related to each, (2) ensuring that each school has a localized anti-bullying policy, (3) the formalization of the Learner Rights Protection Office, (4) providing training to guidance-designates, teachers, parents, and learners to enhance awareness in bullying, and (5) providing funds to implement school-based efforts against bullying.
“Amending the IRR of DepEd Order No. 55 is crucial in our mission at EDCOM 2. We remain committed and hopeful that DepEd, with the help of the Commission, can iron out the issues with the IRR to support students in our schools and provide safe, protected spaces for learning that each and every Filipino learner deserves”, Rep. Romulo said.
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