Home study starts for Maguindanao pupils Thursday

The Department of Education (DepEd) will start on Thursday a home study program for pupils in Maguindanao province affected by events there since the massacre of 57 people last Nov. 23. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said they would also send nurses and social workers to provide psychological stress debriefing for the students, who have to bear the stigma of the massacre and the government's declaration of martial in the province. “Launch natin [ito] sa 17th, sa Huwebes, at paparoon ang team dala ang modules (We will launch this on Thursday. A team is on its way to Maguindanao with the modules)," Lapus said in an interview on dzXL radio. He, however, admitted that there is no timetable yet on when schools in the province can reopen. He said there is still tension in the area, prompting parents to keep their children at home. Classes in Maguindanao have been disrupted since the November 23 massacre. The subsequent declaration of martial law, which lasted for eight days from Dec. 4 to 12, worsened the situation. Lapus said he had consulted with the DepEd central office’s Bureaus of Elementary and Secondary Education and Bureaus of Alternative Learning Systems, and Health and Nutrition on the matter. In turn, they had met with their counterparts in the DepEd of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Maguindanao. “Sila [ay] tuwang tuwa sa ating mga inaalok sa kanila, na magdadala tayo ng home study modules (They were happy that we will train them to use the home study modules)," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV