DepEd to put more weight on psychological factors when hiring new teachers

The Department of Education would now give more emphasis on psychological factors in the recruitment of new teachers following an incident of maltreatment that allegedly led to the death of a grade II pupil in Taguig City, Metro Manila last Wednesday.

This was learned from DepEd officer in charge Fe Hidalgo who said that the department would now focus more on psychological factors in hiring new teachers after an educator allegedly forced her pupil to eat pencil shavings as a punishment.

The student from Taguig reportedly developed acute tonsillitis and pneumonia and later died at the hospital.

Hidalgo added that DepEd will conduct a review on the guidelines for the recruitment of teachers. The department is also eyeing to continue the implementation of the Personal Safety Lessons curriculum in private and public schools nationwide.

The program seeks to develop awareness of and positive values among the learners, parents and community towards the protection of children against abuses in and out of schools.

Cebu City Schools superintendent Leonilo Oliva said that they are amenable with the plan to revise the guidelines citing the importance of psychological factors, specifically behavioral reactions to certain conditions and situations.

"We have already forwarded all of our suggestions and in fact we have suggested to include psychological aspects in the hiring of teachers. We do not want such incident to happen again to our schoolchildren," he said.

Oliva also said that during the 90s there was also an incident of maltreatment of a student here where a teacher forced the student to swallow a marble after he was caught playing with it while in class. - Jasmin R. Uy