A toddler rights group on Thursday said energetic shooter drills in public schools are a short-term response to rising school violence nationwide, urging the federal government to handle the foundation causes of security threats.
“These responses from the federal government on the rising school-related violence are lazy, reactive, and merely stopgap measures,” Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns Spokesperson Elle Buntag said in Filipino in an announcement.
“As we’ve repeatedly said, the federal government must address the foundation of the issue,” she added. “Let’s deal with long-term and scientific solutions as a substitute of implementing measures to prove that we’ve done and we’re doing something.”
The group noted that as a substitute of specializing in ‘band-aid’ solutions, funding should be used to strengthen efforts in build up the infrastructure crucial for youngsters’s healthy development.
“Addressing school violence means addressing systemic problems that affect Filipino children’s development – poverty and the shortage of access to quality education and other basic social services,” Ms. Buntag said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier ordered public schools nationwide to develop their very own energetic threat response plans, following the primary energetic shooter drill at Manila Science High School.
The simulation comes a month after a college shooting in Tacloban City left three students dead and 20 others injured.
Through the drill, lockdown and lockout protocols were practiced, including barricading doors and windows, turning off lights, silencing devices, and staying on the bottom.
Teachers were also tasked with carrying out evacuation plans during incidents to make sure a swift, organized response to potential threats.
Nevertheless, the agency clarified that simulation drills are only a component of a “broader, proactive safety framework” and wouldn’t solve the broader issue of faculty violence.
“It shouldn’t be enough for our learners to easily grow to be accustomed to drills for his or her physical safety,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said in Filipino in a news release on Thursday.
“We must also ensure their mental and emotional well-being and be sure that they’ve access to helplines and guidance services in every school without fear,” he added.
Other initiatives to advertise learners’ safety include a nationwide school safety audit, increased police patrols, and dedicated funding for CCTV systems, metal detectors, and repairs to high school perimeter fences.
The agency has also expanded localized anti-bullying measures across campuses. At the identical time, learners are taught to discover early warning signs of each online and offline abuse through social-emotional learning (SEL) integrated into the curriculum and classroom-based discussions. — Almira Louise S. Martinez