DepEd chief lauds teachers who “have gone beyond their call” this year

Photo courtesy of Laguna School Systems

MANILA — As the year is about to end, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Bro Armin Luistro sends a Christmas message reminiscing both the good and the bad things that helped shape the education sector this year.

In his Christmas message, Luistro underscored the teachers who have fulfilled beyond their call of duty even to the point of risking their lives from the dangers that might be inflicted upon their students.

“Christmas is a reminder of the goodness that comes into the world even as it is challenged by the darkness of uncertainty. We have seen examples of this throughout the year in the persons of those within the Department who have given much of themselves so that our work may continue. Our teachers have gone beyond their call to do remarkable things like deflect gunmen and protect their students,” Luistro said.

In September, the whole nation witnessed the brutal shooting in Pangasinan National High School which took the lives of three teachers while others including students were left injured and traumatized.

“These times have seen direct threats aimed at our students. Violence in schools and the constant possibility of disasters keep us on our toes, firm in our commitment to ensure everyone’s safety within the school community,”

Just this month, news also came out about the Taliban terrorists attack of an Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan which slaughtered 145 people including 132 schoolchildren. The DepEd chief has earlier stated his condemnation against the said tragic event and further reiterated that schools must rather be “zones of peace”.

However, in spite of all the violence and dangers schools have encountered this year, Luistro emphasized that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel with all the aid and support the Department gets from its donors who have been continuously supporting DepEd in building and rehabilitating classrooms for Yolanda-affected areas and other places across the country which are in dire need of school facilities.

“Our donors too have been on call, ready to engage us, for what little or big needs we might have,” he added.

“This Christmas, I wish for all of you to rekindle that goodness inside and magnify it. Remind others, by way of gratefulness, that they too have been beacons of good in your lives. Find peace knowing that in your own little way, you have contributed a great deal of good in a world bereft of it,” Luistro said.