Kahit na ang pagkuha ng mga guro na walang lisensiya ay paglabag sa guidelines ng Department of Education (DepEd), hindi naman basta-basta ipasasara ang mga private school nang walang tamang proseso.

“Due process is still required before DepEd can close the school,” sinabi ni Education lawyer Joseph Noel Estrada sa Manila Bulletin. “Definitely, they cannot close within the school year because students will be affected and displaced,” dugtong niya.

Sinabi ni Estrada na may karapatan ang mga private school “to exhaust administrative remedies all the way up to the Secretary’s office,” na ang tinutukoy ay ang opisina ni Education Secretary Leonor Briones. “If it becomes very urgent the schools can ask the courts of law to intervene,” dugtong niya.

Nauna rito, nagpahayag ng pagkabahala ang private schools sa inilabas na direktiba ng DepEd National Capital Region (NCR) na nagpapaalala sa kanila ng “minimum qualification of teaching personnel.”

Sinabi ng Federation of Associations of Private Schools & Administrators (FAPSA) na magreresulta ito sa pagsasara ng maraming private schools dahil mawawalan sila ng mga guro.

Kamakailan ay naglabas si Officer-in-Charge Wilfredo Cabral ng Regional Memorandum No. 78 series of 2018 para matiyak ang “delivery of quality basic education in both public and private schools” at pagtupad sa Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education.

“It is to be emphasized that with the provision of minimum educational qualification for teaching personnel, the manual still prescribes that teaching personnel in private basic education institutions should have passed the LET [Licensure Examination for Teachers ] except for instances allowed by the law,” nakasaad sa memo ni Cabral.

Pinaalalahanan ni Cabral ang lahat ng private schools sa NCR “to strictly comply with the provision of the manual” at nagbabala na “any violation thereof may be a ground for administrative sanction.”

Sinabi ni Estrada na may iba’t ibang administrative sanctions para sa private schools na kumukuha ng unlicensed teachers. Ang mga eskuwelahan na nasa permit phase “will not be given recognition” o “those with recognition may be downgraded to permit status.”

Maaari ring ipag-utos ng DepEd ang “closure of the private school concerned.” Batay sa DepEd, ang private schools na hindi binigyan ng permit to operate ay hindi kinilala ng Department – kaya’t ilegal ang kanilang operasyon.

-Merlina Hernando-Malipot