THE Department of Education (DepEd) has developed an app to provide a safer avenue for the agency’s teaching and non-teaching personnel as they give information and status of their vaccination.
This, as the Cabinet has yet to tackle a legal question raised by one of its members, on whether private schools can bar unvaccinated teachers from attending face-to-face classes.
Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said development of the DepEd Mobile App is in support of the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP. Through this app, DepEd personnel can log in and provide updated information on their vaccination status and they will no longer be required to do manual data collection in all governance levels.
“We decided to create this platform to give our personnel and teachers a hassle-free and contactless way of handing out their vaccination status. We also want to maximize the use of technology in consolidating information of the vaccinees,” Briones said.
The process of using the DepEd Mobile App is done remotely. It may be downloaded in App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).
“The app can generate and send consolidated reports per division and region. Overall, this technology simplifies and lessens administrative tasks and minimizes inaccuracy and errors in data collection,” said Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua.
The OUA memorandum released on Monday also provided a User Guide to orient personnel on the step-by-step process for using the application, from registering up to providing personal information. The application features a Question Set for users to update their vaccination status, in addition to other details related to Covid-19.
Pascua also noted that the data collected from the application would be vital in crafting policies and addressing challenges in the vaccination program of the national government.
“All the information collected will guide the Department’s leaders across all governance levels in making appropriate decisions to respond to the ongoing pandemic. Only timely and accurate information can help provide appropriate solutions to DepEd’s concerns,” Pascua added.
Based on the submissions by the 15 regions as of July 8, out of 788,839 eligible population of DepEd personnel, 37.91 percent are already vaccinated while 62 percent remain unvaccinated.
There were 299,021 who were vaccinated for both first dose and second dose while 489,818 were not vaccinated.
To reach this unvaccinated personnel, the DepEd said that various DepEd Regional and Division Offices are also continuously promoting the Vacc2School campaign to encourage personnel in registering with their local government’s vaccination drive.
Can teachers be coerced?
Meanwhile, a legal question was raised on Thursday involving the right of private schools to bar unvaccinated teachers from school premises.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday begged off from issuing a legal opinion on the question raised by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. on the legality of a requirement by some schools for their teachers to be vaccinated before the start of a face-to-face class.
Guevarra admitted that Locsin raised a “tough policy question” which should be brought before the entire Cabinet.
“Tough policy questions like these will most likely be discussed at the Cabinet meeting first,” Guevarra said.
In his official Twitter account, Locsin posted, “@DOJPH Help please. Need your opinion. Is it legal for schools to require teachers to vaccinate before letting them in the classroom when face to face allowed? Can they fire teachers who refuse for cock and bull conscientious reasons? I’m serious.”
But Guevarra did not directly give an answer to the question.
With school year 2021-2022 set to open on September 13, there had been suggestions for face-to-face classes to be allowed in selected areas, but President Duterte has yet to approve it.
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