ACT links student safety to classroom congestion

A teachers’ group on Monday said that students’ safety and welfare are directly linked to class size, following the school shooting incident in Tacloban City on Monday.

“When classrooms contain fifty or sixty learners, meaningful guidance, supervision, and intervention become far more difficult,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said in a statement.

“Students themselves report feeling safer and more supported in smaller classes,” she added.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) echoed the same concern in a report last May, highlighting a culture of bullying and classroom disruption when classrooms are overcrowded.

The report also mentioned how bullying often escalates into coordinated physical violence and severe intimidation, which drives some students to absenteeism.

“EDCOM’s own findings show that overcrowding is not merely a learning issue but also a student welfare issue,” Ms. Bernardo said. “If we are serious about creating safe learning environments, we must invest in the people and facilities that make safety possible.”

ACT also warned that the situation must not be dealt with through “punitive and security-centered responses” or reduced to an isolated incident.

Instead, the group noted that schools must strengthen mental health support and guidance, reduce overcrowding, and nurture learners with compassion, critical thinking, and collective responsibility.

“We caution against knee-jerk responses that focus solely on punishment, increased policing, or the militarization of schools,” she said. “Genuine solutions require building a culture of peace, justice, accountability, and democratic participation through education.”

“This means hiring more teachers, constructing more classrooms to reduce overcrowding, and ensuring that every school has sufficient guidance counselors, nurses, and student support personnel,” she added.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) expressed its intent to tighten security measures in academic institutions nationwide, prior to the school shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City that left three deceased and seven others wounded.

“Violence has no place in our schools. Our learners, teachers, and school personnel deserve an environment that is safe and conducive to learning,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. said during his speech in a flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

Among the initiatives identified are strengthening police visibility around schools, intensifying preventive patrols, conducting security assessments, and sustaining close coordination with school authorities.

“Local government units, parents, and community stakeholders, let us remain proactive and vigilant in addressing threats before they escalate into incidents,” he added.

For its part, the DepEd said it is coordinating closely with school authorities and law enforcement regarding the incident.

“The Department considers this a high-alert situation,” the agency said in a statement.  “Our Central Office officials, alongside regional and division office personnel, are actively on the ground, coordinating closely with school authorities and law enforcement.”

Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara added that the agency will assist the affected learners, especially those currently hospitalized.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and companions of the three students killed in San Jose, Tacloban,” he said in Filipino on an X post. “We are already on our way with our Undersecretaries/Assistant Secretaries to help those affected, especially those hospitalized.”

Under DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2019, or the National Policy Framework on Learners and Schools as Zones of Peace, mandates that schools be free of armed combatants, whether from the government or an armed group. If needed, government-armed protection units shall be placed proximate to the school, not inside it. — Almira Louise S. Martinez