Teachers' group press DepEd for more funding to hold indoor year-end rites

MANILA, Philippines — Teachers' group Alliance of Concerned Teachers has asked the Department of Education to provide supplemental funds after it advised schools to hold its end-of-school-year ceremonies indoors to avoid exposure to heat. 

ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said that additional funds on top of schools' maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) are needed to secure suitable venues for graduation and moving up ceremonies. 

DepEd, through Memorandum 23 s. 2024, advised schools to conduct their end-of-school-year rites in indoor venues with "proper ventilation" or covered courts to "avoid exposure to the extreme heat of the sun." 

The department also said that schools must avoid scheduling ceremonies during the time of the day when temperatures are at their highest. 

Schools are ordered to fund the ceremonies through their MOOE. All DepEd personnel are also barred from collecting contributions or fees for graduation or moving up ceremonies.
 
Quetua said that schools' MOOE is only enough for basic operational expenses, but "emerging needs as response to climate-related and other emergencies were not factored in." 

The ACT chair said that the group has long pushed to double the MOOE to improve ventilation and facilities to avoid teachers and school heads from shouldering expenses "to get things moving."

“Now that we are faced with exacerbated conditions in schools due to extreme heat as end of school year approaches, DepEd must ensure that all the needs in wrapping up the school year are adequately met. With sufficient funding, we can ensure suitable venues for students, parents, and teachers in holding graduation and moving-up ceremonies,” Quetua added.

Record-breaking temperatures in the past weeks have already forced thousands of public schools to suspend class instruction. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in an interview on Monday that he has asked DepEd Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte to speed up the revert to the old June-March school calendar.