PASIG CITY, June 5, 2019 – The Department of Education (DepEd) is exerting all efforts to facilitate a solution acceptable to all officials and teachers in regard to the faculty room issue in Bacoor National High School-Molino Main. Concrete steps have been undertaken to resolve any conflict, in the interest of orderly operations of the school.

The situation arose when the school implemented its decision to move to single-shift classes this school year. This resulted in faculty rooms (intended originally as classrooms) needing to be converted back into additional classrooms to realize the policy. The school has an enrollment of more than 7,000 learners.

To address the displacement of teachers from the faculty rooms, the principal met with the teachers last May 27. Minutes of the meeting indicate that the principal offered the library, the guidance center, and the advisory classrooms to serve as temporary faculty rooms.

However, 11 of the school’s 236 teachers opted to convert a restroom into a faculty room. It must be emphasized that the use of restroom is the choice of the 11 teachers themselves who then complained about it in social media.

Even as a memorandum to vacate the comfort room has already been issued by the principal, the Department would like to ensure that the resulting temporary arrangement will be acceptable to all concerned.

DepEd also seeks to address the Bacoor issue and similar concerns strategically, over the long term, by including in its programs the construction of administration buildings. DepEd has included in its 2020 budget request to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the funding for an initial batch of such buildings that will have space for principal’s office, faculty room, guidance room, library, and school supplies and equipment storage in times of calamities.

DepEd also reminds its teachers and personnel that there are appropriate administrative procedures in addressing welfare concerns.

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