All completion and graduation ceremonies for students from kindergarten to senior high school (SHC) in the province of Iloilo this year have been canceled.
The move is a precautionary measure against the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), which already infected more or less fifty Filipinos and foreign nationals in the country.
The cancellation is also in compliance with the executive order issued by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., which suspends all public events involving a large number of attendees for a period of 45 days.
“Distribution of certificates/diplomas shall be held in the classrooms involving the learners, class adviser and the school principal only,” said DepEd-Iloilo in a statement.
“All learners shall report to school until March 20 only to take the exams and finish other school requirements. Any further school requirements should be home-based assignments. Financial clearances for learners is not allowed,” it further said.
Meanwhile, teachers “shall report to school until the last school day observing applicable COVID-19 precautions.”
A memorandum regarding the cancellation of completion and graduations rites will be issued by the Office of the Superintendent on Thursday, March 12.
The education department called on “all school stakeholders to support the measure and to cooperate with the authorities for the good of all.”
“Health is wealth. Health is everybody’s concern,” it stressed.IMT
