Garcia: Are school district meets really necessary?

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia | CDN Digital file photo

BOLJOON, Cebu, Philippines — Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will want to know the rationale behind district meets organized by the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division.

Garcia said this amid the death of seven students and two chaperones in a truck accident in Boljoon town on Friday, July 19.

She said understanding the rationale behind district meets would help her to make the appropriate action to prevent a similar accident from happening again involving school district meets.

She said that she would look into this and had it studied after the families of the dead victims asked her to find out about the necessity of holding school district meets for students in farflung barangays.

Read more: DepEd District Schools to raise funds for Boljoon accident victims

The families earlier claimed that the students were given points for joining the DepEd activities to encourage them to attend the parade in the Boljoon’s town center.

“Sa akong bahin, isip gobernador, akong ipa-imbestigar usab kabahin aning mga district meets. Unsa bay gisubayan niini, duna ba niy lagda gikan sa Department of Education. Atong tan-awn, angay ba, kung duna pay district meet. Duna tay buhatong pakisusi kabahin aning district meet,” she told the families of the victims,” she said.

(For my part as governor, I will order a study or an investigation on these district meets. We want to know if this is approved by the Department of Education and what rules they are following. We will see if it is still propert to hold district meets. We will look into it.)

Garcia said that she would ask the the provincial schools division superintendent, who is a co-chairman of the Provincial School Board, to explain the rationale of a district meet and its protocols.

Read more: Boljoon accident takes nine lives, leaves shattered dreams in its wake

“I really want to find out the whys and wherefores of these dstrict meets. Ngano man naa tay district meet? Unsa man sad ang gibuhat sa DepEd kabahin sa pag-ensure sa safety sa mga atheletes, the students, nga mosalmot sa district meet,” she said.

(I really want to find out the whys and wherefores of these district meets. Why are there district meets? What has DepEd done to ensure the safety of the athletes and the students who will be attending the district meet.)

Garcia said that she together with the Provincial School Board would look into the entire program of the district meets.

Meanwhile, Leah Apao, assistant schools division superintendent, told CDN Digital in a phone interview that the activity in Boljoon town on Friday was a “three in one” event making up the Nutrition Month activities, which include a cultural contest and a district meet.

Apao said the activities were merged so the students of the mountain barangays would only go down to the town center once, considering the distance and the risks that the travel from their barangay would entail.

She said that the activity was already plotted in the school calendars of all the schools in Boljoon, and they had coordinated with the local government unit for the transportation of the students, faculty and chaperones.

The activities were conducted to promote health and wellness, cultural appreciation, and collaboration among the students of each district.

In earlier statements, she said that all district schools in Cebu had pledged to raise funds to help the Boljoon accident victims. /dbs