DepEd orders closure of Salugpongan schools in Davao

THE DEPARTMENT of Education-Region 11 (DepEd-11) has ordered the closure of private schools owned and operated by the Salugpongan Ta Tana Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. effective Monday, Oct. 7. In a press conference Tuesday, DepEd-11 Spokesperson Jenielito S. Atillo presented the resolution, which cites several violations of the schools supposedly catering to children of indigenous people (IP) communities. An ad-hoc fact-finding committee reported that the Salugpongan does not comply with the curriculum standards set by the DepEd, brought students away from their home without the parents’ consent, and its teachers are not licensed. The resolution also noted that Salugpongan schools have been operating within the ancestral domain of IP communities without obtaining the requirements set by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). Meanwhile, the Save Our Schools (SOS) Network condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the DepEd order. In a statement Wednesday, SOS said, “We cannot consider validity of the DepEd resolution and investigation when they only lent their ears to the false narratives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its paramilitary troops about the Lumad (IP) community schools.” — Maya M. Padillo