Luistro clings on to ‘no assignment on weekend policy’

Despite objections of teachers

Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro remained adamant on his order of implementing a “no assignment on weekend policy” despite objectons from a group of teacher group about it.

Luistro said they are listening to the complaints of the parents that their children receive tons of homework during weekends.

In the same breath, Luistro said his order was really meant as recognition to create a child-friendly school system that also encourages play and leisure time for kids especially during weekends.

“The memorandum was issued in the spirit of recognition that schools should be child-friendly. I don’t think teachers and parents would disagree na kailangan din ng mga bata ang laro. Wag nating kalimutan na ang bata ay natututo din sa paglalaro. Learning should not be confined to the classroom,” Luistro said.

At the same time, Luistro said there is no need to consult with the teachers at all time adding that DepEd Memorandum Order 392 was “different” from previous memorandum issued by the department.

“Pag nabasa nyo yung memorandum ko advised lang nakalagay dun at hindi naman lahat ng bagay kailangan ng konsultasyon. What we need is the spirit behind the order,” he said, adding that “they should not look for an issue that is a non-issue.”

“The memorandum is a very general principle; we should not make it as a memorandum of the other types na may parusa,” he said.

The DepEd chief said “it is the teachers who will ultimately make the decision on the number of assignments to be given to their students.”

Instead of seeing the order in a bad light, Luistro appealed to parents to help for the education of their children saying that they can bond with their children on weekends in a way that also will help their learning.

“It (memorandum) is a request for the parents to be part of their children’ educational growth. Ito’y isang panawagan sa mga magulang na gampanan ang kanilang tungkulin,” he added.

Earlier, various teachers groups scored the DepEd saying that the “no assignment policy” constitutes a violation of their academic freedom.

They also expressed concern such a policy may affect the learning of the students.

Both the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have pointed out that the memorandum was issued without any consultation with the teachers. –Jason Faustino, Daily Tribune