No more alphabet charts. No more multiplication tables. No more pictures of national heroes or past and present presidents. Not even crucifixes.
Bare walls only for public classrooms was the directive of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“I know that President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) and all other former presidents and all heroes past and present will not at all be bothered if learners focus on their teachers, lessons, projects, and assignments,” Duterte-Carpio said in a statement.
“The order is what it is. Take out everything on the wall and let learners focus on their studies. Classrooms and schools should be clean, orderly, and functional,” added DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa in a TeleRadyo interview.
Under Department of Education Order No. 21, all schools shall ensure that school grounds, classrooms and all its walls, and other school facilities are clean and free from unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulins, and posters at all times.
“The directive of the Vice President is bare walls for our classrooms to be clean, orderly, and functional,” Poa said in a television interview.
The DepEd undersecretary said the order also applies to the artwork of students.
“Decorations, pictures, photos, artworks — all of these we want to remove…We want a conducive environment for our learners,” he said.
Asked if crucifixes should also be removed, Poa said public schools should be non-sectarian.
“Let’s just try to keep our walls bare and clean,” he said, adding that even prayers should be non-sectarian.
“We pray but what we want is for our prayer to be for all religions, not just for Catholic,” Poa said.
He said visual aids can still be used but only during the time of the lesson.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro denounced the bare classroom walls policy of DepEd.
“The DepEd order is extremely deplorable,” Castro said.
“The government address instead the lack of classroom space and reduce class size so that teachers can focus more on students,” she added.
ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua said visual aids help engage and motivate learners.
“Teachers will now have to rush to their respective classrooms and schools to take down these materials which they’ve spent time and money on to prepare the classrooms,” Quetua said.
“With the walls painted over, we will not only be welcomed by the smell of paint, but the schools will look like cemeteries because they are empty,” he added.
The Teacher’s Dignity Coalition earlier urged school heads and teachers to “not take too literally” the DepEd order that prohibits classroom decorations, saying this only pertains to unnecessary posters.
“We have to understand that posters and educational materials are a big help to students. Studies have shown that they help greatly in the kids’ understanding because visually, they can add to their learning,” TDC chairperson Benjo Basas said.