(Eagle News) – Graduation rites and moving up ceremonies for basic education for school year 2019-2020 were postponed indefinitely by the Department of Education (DepEd) in view of the extended enhanced community quarantine.
“With the extension of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon and in different parts of the country, and the continued restriction of DOH on mass gatherings, the graduation and moving up rites in basic education throughout the country is postponed indefinitely”, the DepEd said in a statement.
Schools were given the option to either forego or reschedule to a later date the graduation or moving up ceremonies, in consultation with their respective Parents-Teachers Association (PTA).
“If holding the rites will push through, DOH guidelines on mass gatherings must be observed”, the DepEd said.
– DepEd Commons now available for private learners –
In the meantime, the DepEd has made available to private schools its online delivery platform, DepEd Commons, starting this April.
In a separate statement, DepEd Secretary Leonoro Briones said that “welcoming private school learners to DepEd Commons is a good example of the constitutional provision on the complementarity of public and private education.”
Developed for public school learners, DepEd Commons was initially made available for students under the alternative learning system (ALS). It offers Open Educational Resources (OER) and teacher-made enrichment activities that may be used as supplementary instruction tools.
Data posted in the DepEd’s officia FB page said that as of April 14, 2020, users of the platform has reached more than 3.9 million.
“DepEd highly encourages the use of DepEd Commons during this crisis where face-to-face instruction is impossible although the online platform is given as an option only for those who have access to internet and equipment such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers”, the statement added.
(Eagle News Service)