Iginiit ng Department of Education (DepEd) na ang polisiya ng pamahalaan na i-require ang pagbabakuna kontra COVID-19 sa mga empleyado kasama ang mga teaching and non-teaching personnel ay para maiwasan ang pagkalat ng COVID-19 sa mga paaralan at opisina nito.
Ayon sa kagawaran, ito rin ay para mapangalagaan ang mga mag-aaral, kliyente at mga manggagawa nito hangga’t maaari.
“The Department of Education reiterates that the government policy of requiring employees who work on-site, including teaching and non-teaching personnel involved in face-to-face classes and in-school activities, to be vaccinated is being implemented as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in schools and DepEd offices to protect learners, clients, and employees to the extent possible.”
Sinabi pa ng DepEd na ang nasabing polisiya partikular ang requirement para sa guro pati na rin ang non-teaching personnel na hahawak sa face-to-face classes at nagsasagawa ng gawaing pampaaralan ay dapat bakunahan ay aprubado ng Office of the President.
“This is also in line with the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Resolution Nos. 148B and 149 s. 2021, on the requirement for vaccination or negative RT-PCR result or antigen test result (if RT-PCR capacity is insufficient) for employees working on-site, in areas that have sufficient supply of vaccines as determined by the National Vaccines Operation Center.”
Ipinaliwanag din nila na ang nasabing polisiya ay walang intensyon para magdiskrimina at kanila ring binanggit na ang mga kawani ng DepEd na hindi pa bakunado ay tinatrato ng patas.
“The said policy does not and is not intended to unjustly discriminate against any DepEd employee who chooses not to be vaccinated. A DepEd employee who is not vaccinated is treated fairly as he/she remains obliged to render work and receive compensation based on applicable alternative work arrangements, and his/her work is not terminated on the sole ground of being unvaccinated, consistent with the above IATF Resolutions as well as Civil Service rules and regulations.“
Nitong Nobyembre, sinimulan ng kagawaran ang “pilot phase” ng in-person classes, ito ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon na magbukas muli ang mga silid-aralan matapos ang halos dalawang taon buhat ng magkapandemya. DZUP