Sa pagsisikap na magabayan ang sektor ng edukasyon tungo sa paglikha ng ligtas, inclusive at conflict-sensitive learning environments, naglabas ang Department of Education (DepEd) ng national policy framework sa mga mag-aaral at eskuwelahan bilang zones of peace.

Sinabi ni Education Secretary Leonor Briones, sa DepEd Order No. 32 s. of 2019, na ang kanyang framework “defines the components and guiding principles” sa deklarasyon at pagtatag ng Learners and Schools bilang “Zones of Peace.”

Binanggit ni Briones na ang framework also “outlines the overall strategy for ensuring the safety and security of learners, personnel and schools; the continuity of education in situations of armed conflict; and the contributions of education and schools to peacebuilding.”

“It institutionalizes conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding, and community engagement into education interventions, as as means to prevent, mitigate, respond and recover from armed and violent conflict,” sinabi ni Briones sa memorandum.

Sa parehong memo, binanggit ng DepEd kung paano ang armed conflict “continues to pose serious security threats” sa libu-libong barangays na mayroong “adverse impacts” lalo na sa edukasyon ng mga bata.

Tinukoy ang datos mula sa Enhanced Basic Education Information System (EBEIS), sinabi DepEd na mula School Year 2009-2010 hanggang 2017-2018, mayroong kabuuang 10,883 paaralan sa buong bansa na nag-ulat ng mga epekto ng “violent incidents” – kabilang ang armed conflict.

“These schools have suffered from the effects of violent incidents, specifically damages to school facilities and disruption of classes,” saad ng ahensiya.

Sa parehong panahon, napansin ng DepEd na lahata ng anim na rehiyon sa Mindanao gayundin sa Regions V at VIII “consistently figured as the top 10 regions each year with the highest proportion of schools with incidences of armed conflict.”

Binanggit din ng DepEd na ang Marawi siege, nangyari noong 2017, ay mayroong “much larger scale and with greater impact.” Tumagal ng halos limang buwan, sinabi ng ahensiya na winasak ng digmaan ang 20 paaralan sa ground zero at itinaboy ang libu-libong mag-aaral sa halos 100 apektadong barangay.

Ang mga giyera, ayon sa DepEd, ay labis na nakaaapekto sa tatlong bunga ng edukasyon: access, quality, at governance na nagreresulta sa “dismantling the foundations on which learners, families, and communities build their future.”

Sinabi ng DepEd na ang armed conflicts ay nakaapekto sa pag-abot sa edukasyon “through the disruption of the delivery of educational services” na nababalam dahil sa “attacks on schools” kabilang na sa school personnel, suspensiyon ng mga klase na maaaring tumagal nang mahabang panahon, at paggamit ng mga paaralan bilang mga temporary evacuation centers.

“Schooling is also disrupted as result or the displacement of learners,” anang ahensiya. “In addition, fear or trauma among learners, personnel, and parents or simply their own regard for personal safety and security, prevent learners from going back to school,” dagdag didto.

Sinabi rin ng DepEd na ang armed conflicts ay lumilikha ng “unsafe and unsecure environments where learners face the risk of being victims” ng grave child rights violations (GCRVs). “The youth, especially the out-of-school youths, are vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups and government forces [and] these groups may also use schools for propaganda.

Dahil sa epekto ng armed conflict sa mga bata, inilabas ng DepEd ang nasabing framework para palakasin ang governance ng education system “to make schools safe, more secure, and child-friendly.”

-Merlina Hernando-Malipot