STNHS junks students’ plea for Face-to-Face Graduation

Ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of learners, parents, and school
personnel, Sto. Tomas National High School dismissed the appeal for reconsideration
of face-to-face graduation for all Senior High School students School Year 2021-2022 in
adherence to Department of Education’s guidelines on End-of-school year (EOSY) rites.
School Principal Ricardo Olmedo Jr., in response to the request filed by Grade
12 students, expressed his strong desire for everyone to march and experience this
momentous event but there are rules and regulations the school must follow.
Under DepEd Memorandum No. 043s, s. 2022, the face-to-face conduct of End-
of-school year rites is highly discouraged however, schools in Alert Levels 1 and 2 and
in consultation with the local government units as well as parents/guardian may opt to
hold a limited face to face or hybrid ceremony with strict compliance to the IATF
protocols to give learners a sense of normalcy without risking their health and safety.
Following this memorandum, Olmedo initially declared that the school will hold a
face-to-face graduation for Senior High School on June 28 limited only to the Top 10
students per strand while a Virtual Graduation for all Grade 12 students will also be
conducted.
As per the guidelines, the following measures must be strictly observed at all
times: Face masks must be worn throughout the entire event, at least one-meter safe
distance must be observed between individuals, participants must be seated at their
assigned seats only, handshake or any other forms of physical contact is discouraged,
and only the parents or one designated guardian shall be permitted to accompany a
candidate for graduation.
However, students who were not considered to participate in the face-to-face
graduation along with their parents condemned this decision and continuously call for a
fair commemoration of graduation rites.
“I believe that all graduating students equally deserve to experience the
graduation ceremony, not only those who made their way to the top 50. In fact, all
students have proven themselves to be as efficient as those who topped 50,” one of the
graduating students voiced out.
Furthermore, based on the consultation of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)
officials and members last Saturday, June 18, and considering the clamors of some
parents whose children were not considered to participate in the face-to-face
graduation, it was finally decided to have a pure virtual graduation for the upcoming 52 nd
Commencement Exercises this June 28.