Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte remained firm on her order to remove all unnecessary wall decorations inside classrooms.
"The order is what it is. Take out everything on the wall and let learners focus on their studies," she said in a statement released on Monday, August 21.
Duterte said she know that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., other former presidents, as well as past and present national heroes would "not be bothered if learners focus on their teachers, lessons, projects, and assignments."
Last Saturday, the Education Secretary reminded teachers to maintain classroom cleanliness and remove unnecessary decorations in adherence to the Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 21, Series of 2023, or the Implementing Guidelines for the Brigada Eskwela.
Based on DepEd Order No. 21, schools must ensure that "school grounds, classrooms, and all its walls, and other facilities are clean and free from unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulin, and posters."
Schools must also take down "oversized signages with commercial advertisements, words of sponsorships, and/or endorsements, or announcements of any kind or nature."
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Teachers Party list had blasted DepEd, saying that it should remove teachers' extra workloads instead of removing classroom decorations.
ACT - NCR Union President Ruby Bernardo pointed out that all posted materials are beneficial, especially for primary and elementary students who are visual learners.
