Already reeling under the stigma of a deteriorating educational system where the known proficiency of students in basic subjects like English and Mathematics has drastically declined, the deped particularly in Camarines Sur has to contend with issues of discipline and morality in the schools.
Proddings by the media for the DepEd to make an immediate decisive administrative action on cases involving male married school teachers who have had sexual relationships with their students, some of them minors, have up to now produced no concrete results. Schools Division Superintendent Emma Cornejo has reportedly organized a team of school officials as investigators but it seems that team members either do not know what to do or are deliberately delaying the investigation to fi nd ways to save the necks of the culprits and allow them to continue molesting students.
DepEd Camarines Sur has to be very careful in handling these cases of truant teachers, some of whom, like in Caramoan and Calabanga, are married and who have impregnated their students.
If no administrative sanctions come in due time from deped authorities on these scandalous cases, that means they are tolerating and abetting these beastly acts in the schools.
Even school principals who knew immoral acts involving teachers and students but did nothing to stop them and acted like the monkey who saw, heard and said nothing should be held administratively liable for dereliction of duty.
Such tolerance, if proven true, would be repugnant and unacceptable to aggrieved parents and the society itself and would further degrade the image and reputation of the DepEd. What will happen if parents can no longer trust teachers?
Indeed, these cases of sex maniacs among teachers place the deped authorities in Camarines Sur under a crucial test on whether they have ample competence and capability to instill discipline and morality in schools and deserve to continue in their jobs.
