“TEACHER HITS STUDENTS DOING CHALKBOARD WORK, GETS SUSPENDED”
by GMA News
Nikko Jan H. Quimpan
Davao Doctors College Inc.
General Malvar St. Poblacion District, Davao City, 8000 Davao del Sur
The Department of Education (DepEd)
in Southern Leyte suspended a teacher caught
on video hitting a student as punishment for
failing to accomplish chalkboard work. According
to Joseph Morong's report on "24 Oras'', the
teacher in Dinglayan, Kalinga is also the subject
of a complaint for grave misconduct and has
been placed under suspension. The incident
took place in Padre Burgos National High
School in Southern Leyte and was reported to
DepEd after concerned parents brought the
case to their attention. A video went viral
featuring the teacher, whose name was not
disclosed, hitting a student in an apparent
attempt to discipline the student.
The problem of teacher discipline in
educational institutions was sparked by the
instance of physical aggression against students
by a teacher at Padre Burgos National High
School in Southern Leyte. In a viral video, a
teacher was seen beating a pupil for not doing
the work on the chalkboard that was given to
them. The instructor was immediately
suspended by the Department of Education
(DepEd), but the incident highlighted the need
for increased education and awareness about
the risks of corporal punishment in the
classroom. Although DepEd has prohibited
physical punishment, some teachers still use it
as a last resort when dealing with disruptive or
rebellious children.
The incident led to a discussion about
the need for alternative methods of discipline
when dealing with disobedient students, as well
as the necessity of increased communication
and participation from parents and community
members. Teachers should be encouraged to
constructively discuss any problems they may
be having with students with their parents, even
if they shouldn't be expected to act as parents.
In a statement, DepEd emphasized that using
violence as a form of discipline is never
appropriate and urged all instructors to
participate in the various programs that foster
relationships between students, teachers, and
parents.
With the start of face-to-face lessons
again, the DepEd stated that it is imperative that
they examine the conditions of their staff. “That
was naman not the usual character of the
teacher, kaya nga oo, kaya nga yung, nagsisisi
na rin siya. Actually, humihingi rin siya ng
kapatawaran sa mga parents ng mga bata,”
Education Secretary Isidro Cariño said. Based
on the report of GMA News, inappropriate
behavior has reportedly been reported to DepEd
via their email address and hotline numbers.
The majority of the reports’ cases involve
corporal punishment. The report also mentioned
that, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said
that, “We acknowledge the email and then get
their contact numbers and kami na mismo ang
tumatawag sa kanila para alam nila na napansin
yung email nila at alam nila na may ginagawa
kami.”
However, the lawmaker is pushing the a
law that protects students and teachers, House
Bill 5735 known as the Student Discipline and
Teacher Protection Act ask the Department of
Education to implement policies about
classroom management and dicipline for
students. DepEd is also considering offering pre-
service and in-service training to its staff
members in areas including constructive
discipline, classroom management, and child
behavior and psychology.
DepEd appealed to parents and
members of the community to bring any cases of
malpractice or violence in the schools to their
attention so that such incidents may be
addressed properly. The education sector also
reminded all teachers to strengthen the use of
the available programs which boast students-
teachers-parents relationships such as the
Community Learning Action Cells (CLAC)
Program to address issues or concerns with
parents and students in a nonviolent manner.
The CLAC program was implemented under
DepEd Order “TEACHER HITS
No.8, Series STUDENTS
of 2019 DOING CHALKBOAR
which seeks
to enhance Filipino values of proper behavior. by GMA News
Nikko Jan H. Quimpa
Davao Doctors College
General Malvar St. Poblacion District, Davao

In a Traditional Philippine Classroom
practices discipline was highly recognized and
strictly implemented to Filipino students in all
grade levels. These strict discipline and
practices can sometimes led to physical force
which intended to cause some degree of pain
and discomfort to students who were subjected
to this acts. This physical punishment is
commonly known as corporal punishment, a
disciplinary action that is physical in nature and
delivered by teachers or school administrators
as punishment for some type of student
misbehavior.
In the Philippine setting corporal
punishment includes physical and humiliating or
degrading punishment, such as beating; kicking;
hitting; slapping; lashing; with or without the use
of an instrument such as a cane, shoes, broom,
stick, whip or belt and etc. Corporal punishment
is prohibited in public and private schools in
article 233 of the Family Code, confirmed in the
Public Schools Service Manual 1992 and the
Manual of Regulations for Private Schools 1992
(UNICEF, 2018).
With the past issues and concerns of
the Filipino students and families towards the
practices of corporal punishment, several law
was implemented such as the Republic Act No.
7610 or the Special Protection of Children
Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act which guarantees that
learner’s rights are protected.
Former Education Secretary Leonor
Briones said in one of her statements in 2020
which evidently quoted as “DepEd is one with
the belief that education should instill and
reinforce the values of respect, responsibility,
and discipline, without reservations, condone
any act of violence or abuse in the conduct
thereof”. Briones urged all teachers and school
officials to uphold the rights and the welfare of
the students, citing the department’s policy and
guidelines for the protection of children in school
REFERENCES:
from abuse, violence, exploitation,
discrimination, bullying and other forms of
De Joya, G. (2020). No More Physical Punishment for Stude
abuse.
Read more
GMA News. (2021). Teacher hit students doing chalkboard
Junnarkar, A. (2021). Don’t Spank The Child — Lesson That E
Marcela, S. (2021). Corpad Punishment in Schools: The Re
Given all of this implementation and
enactment of strict occurrences of corporal
punishment, in 2023 this unlawful act was again
observed in a viral video presenting a teacher
hitting the two students for the reason that they
could not answer the intended chalkboard
activity during their class session. This act has
been criticized by many and has given
concerned to both parents and especially to
students who were also subjected to these
unlawful acts in different forms.
According to Education Secretary Isidro
Cariño that this act portrayed by the teacher was
not her usual personality in classroom teaching
practices. Cariño added that the teacher express
sincere regret and remorse about her
wrongdoings to the students. Given these
statements it signified the fact that the teacher is
going through some personal issues and
problems which overlaps the gap and barrier in
condoning to students the burden of what she
was experiencing. This acts and personality also
highlights the weak Filipino character as cited in
an excerpt of the Report “A Moral Recovery
Program: Building a People, Building a Nation”
among the eight cited weak characters the lack
of discipline fit the most for this particular
concern and issue. Lack of discipline in a sense
which results to inefficient work systems, the
violation of rules and a casual work ethics
lacking following through.
Teachers must understand that there is
nothing more constant but change, the practices
which were traditionally enacted in the past
years of disciplining students are not more
efficient. Therefore, it is important for teachers to
remember that their job is solely not their entire
responsibility but it is also essential to make this
more transparent especially towards asking help
and assistance with the student’s parents. Given
all of these issues it wrapped up the lessons that
corporal punishment is an outdated and
ineffective practice that does not more harm
than good. It fails to teach important life skills
and relies too heavily on fear and humiliation.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/242341-no-more-physical-puni
https://www.gmanetwork,com/news/yopstories/regions/845003
gets-suspended/story/?amp
https://www.thequint.com/amp/news/parenting/dont-spank-the-