PASIG CITY, March 4, 2017 – The Department of Education (DepEd) is encouraging parents to provide time for the welfare of their children by attending school meetings or parent-teacher conferences, and being informed on school policies.

The call was made by DepEd following the tragic accident during field trip in Tanay, Rizal that killed college students.

In an interview, Undersecretary Jesus Mateo said that parents should participate in school conferences, especially during the opening of classes, to meet the teachers and principals and be aware of school policies.

“Parent-teacher conferences are where the policies, rules and regulations of the school are being discussed, and we encourage the parents to be involved in school activities, to attend meetings and be informed,” Mateo said.

Mateo added that it is during school meetings that teachers discuss the activities for the year. This is also the time for parents to raise questions and clarifications or make suggestions, such as on the conduct of field trips.

Mateo said that the DepEd-National Capital Region (NCR) is implementing the policy in schools divisions by creating a committee on field trip evaluation.

“The task of the committee is to examine the field trip proposals submitted by the public elementary and secondary schools under their jurisdiction before allowing them to proceed.”

He added that the committee, as a practice, evaluates the relevance of the activity to the lessons, including the values to be derived from it. Safety measures of the children are included in the guidelines for evaluation.

The DepEd reiterates its policy that school field trips are not mandatory. Moreover, schools are ordered to refrain from conducting punitive activities that put to disadvantage or affect the academic standing of students who are unable to join.

The policies on educational tours are based on DepEd Orders No. 56 s. 2001, No. 51 s. 2002, and No. 52 s. 2003.

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