Education
DepEd-PENS to hold 1st nat’l convention in Baguio
MANILA – The DepEd-PENS (Partnership of Employees and Non-teaching Staff of the Department of Education) will hold its First National Convention and Seminar in Teachers Camp, Baguio City on Aug. 25-27 pursuant to DepEd Advisory No. 106 s. 2017 with the theme “Meeting the challenges and improving services of Non-teaching staff in the era of change and K-12”.
This was bared by Dr. George Tizon, DepEd TAPAT (Taguig and Pateros) Administrator and DepEd-PENS National President.
Around 500 participants are expected to join the convention from all over the country.
Each region will be represented by DepEd-PENS members from the school, division and regional level composed of academic non-teaching personnel and non-academic non-teaching personnel in the agency.
He envisions to establish a program that will provide additional benefits through livelihood projects for DepEd’s non-teaching staff and rank and file employees.
During the convention, two main programs will be launched by the organization to define the direction of DepEd-PENS for the coming years. The Project O.K.K.E. or oPENSa Kontra Kakulangan sa Edukasyon which provides free school supplies to poor but deserving students of public schools from the far flung areas in the provinces. These school supplies were gathered through the campaign drive of DepEd-PENS from public and private schools in the rich cities of Metro Manila to donate unused/old school supplies.
The “dePENSa sa Kahirapan, Sama Samang Pagtutulungan” Program is another project of DepEd-PENS that aims to provide cash assistance to School Division Office for a livelihood project for the Non-teaching staff of the Division Office.
The proceeds of the convention will be awarded to a chosen division who will receive P100,000 to start a Cooperative for the non-teaching staff. This is to augment the daily needs of Non-teaching staff due to small salaries of the rank and file.
“The constitution acknowledge the vital role of the academic and non-academic non-teaching personnel in the educational development of our children. The Local Government Code ensures this mandate with the composition of the Local School Board (LSB) where Non-teaching staff are represented as an official member of the board who deliberate the budget for the Special Education Fund (SEF) and we would like to maximize this opportunity by guiding our members during their representation in the LSB to promote and uphold the rights, benefits and opportunities for the non-teaching staff in all cities and municipalities in the country,” Tizon noted.
The convention will be highlighted with guest speakers from DepEd-Central Office and other competent discussants who will provide knowledge and updates to the non-teaching force of the Department of Education.
The DepEd-PENS members are very glad and excited to have these programs for the rank and file employees and they look forward to the convention.
“At last through the DepEd-PENS, we are now given the same opportunity like the teachers because for quite a long time, non-teaching personnel are always treated as a third class citizen of DepEd,” a school clerk from Taguig City said.
