ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 23, 2013) – Umani ng batikos at ibat-ibang reaksyon ang kautusan ng Department of Education na ipitanggal ang mga hijab ng mga gurong Muslim sa loob ng silid-aralan sa mga publikong paaralan.
Ang kautusan ay galing umano kay Education Secretary Armin Luistro at bahagi ng reporma ng naturang ahensya. Ngunit ngayon pa lamang ay umani na ng maraming pagbatikos ang kautusan ng Katolitkong si Lusitro na miyembro naman ng La Salle Brothers.
Sa kopya ng kautusan na nakuha naman ng Agence France Press ay nakasaad umano na bagamat ipinaaalis ang paggamit ng hijab sa loob ng sili-aralan ay maaarin naman itong gamitin sa mga campus o compound ng mga paaralan.
Reforms
“Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the move was part of reforms to make schools more sensitive to religion. Muslim schoolgirls will still be allowed to wear the veil or “hijab” on campuses as well as “appropriate clothing” in gym class,” ayon pa sa ulat.
“But while female Muslim schoolteachers can wear the veil outside class, they are told to remove the veil during lessons so they can interact better with students.Once the [teacher] is in the classroom, she is requested to remove the veil,” ani pa ng kautusan ni Luistro.
Partikular ito sa mga gurong nagtuturo ng Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education.
“Having Muslim female teachers remove their veils allows for proper identification of the teachers by their pupils, thus promoting better teacher-pupil relationship,” dagdag pa nito.
Face to Face
Ayon naman sa ulat ng Interaksyon ng TV 5 ay nilagdaan umano ni Luistro ang kautusan nuong Hulyo 16.
“Seeing the teacher’s face without the veil would be necessary for proper identification of the teachers by the pupils, thus promoting better teacher-pupil relationship,” ani Luistro.
“While the Department supports and promotes the right of Muslim Filipino women to wear hijab/veil (or headdress), it does not compel Muslim Filipino women to wear it,” dagdag pa nito.
Reaksyon
Sa reaksyon ng publiko, ito naman ang sinabi ng isang nakabasa nitong balita: “You need to integrate with us here in Mindanao Armin Luistro for you to be oriented of our practices, culture and faith.”
“There is already a law, magna carta to that effect. If he is serious, then the Aquino government should think twice. They cannot be talking peace with Moro rebels who are Muslims and in the other hand promote that kind of policy,” ayon pa kay Roland, na isang Muslim convert.
“Learn. Respect. Broaden one’s faith,” pahayag naman ng isang Pinay worker sa United Arab Emirate.
Wika naman ng isa: “OMG (oh my gosh) for an Educ(ation) Sec(retary) to say that! Send him back to school so that he will understand Islamic culture.”
Sinabi rin ng isang respetadong Muslim sa Zamboanga City na “For a Cabinet member so insensitive as Mr. Luistro certainly speaks of his lack of understanding of the Muslim culture and custom that he’s mandated as DepEd Secretary to respect. He should be somewhere else not heading the Education Department.”
Kinondena
Sinabi naman sa Mindanao Examiner ng Kabataan party sa Cotabato City na ang “bulok na sistema ng edukasyon ang problema at hindi ang paggamit ng Niqab.”
Mahigpit rin kinukondena ng grupo ang kautusan ni Luistro at sinabing hindi katanggap-tanggap ang kadahilanan na ang pagtatanggal ng Niqab ang makaaangat sa relasyong guro-estudyante at epektibong pagtuturo. Dapat palalimin at solusyunan ang mga istruktural na mga kadahilanan kung bakit hindi umuunlad ang sistema ng edukasyon sa bansa.
“Ang patuloy na militarisasyon sa mga komunidad ng kapatid nating Muslim kung saan ang mga kabataan ang higit na naaapektuhan, ang kakulangan ng mga klasrum, guro, libro, maayos na pasilidad ang sumasagka sa pagkakamit ng dekalidad na edukasyon ng mga kabataan. Ang karapat-dapat gawin ng gobyerno ay dagdagan ang nakalaan na badyet sa edukasyon at hindi ipapasan sa mamamayan ang mga kapinsalaan ng bulok na sistema ng edukasyon at ng pangkabuuang pamamalakad ng gobyerno,” ani pa nito.
Ang kautusan ni Luistro ay isa umanong patunay na nananatiling komersyalisado, pasista, at kontra-mamamayan ang edukasyon sa Pilipinas. “Ito ay malinaw na paglabag sa karapatan ng mamamayang Moro sa malayang pagtataguyod ng relihiyong Islam maging sa loob ng paaralan. Sa halip na gumawa ng mga hakbang para sa pagkilala sa mga karapatan ng bawat indibidwal, lulong ang gobyerno sa pagbubuo ng mga patakaran at polisiya na mas lalong maglulugmok at magmamaliit sa naiisantabi na sektor ng lipunan,” sabi pa Jerome Aba, ang tagapagsalita ng Kabataan party.
Idinagdag pa nito na nakagigimbal ang naturang proklamasyon ng gobyerno pagkatapos nitong ilako ang Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro na siyang kumikilala sa kasaysayan at kultura ng mamamayang Moro. Ito ay salungat sa aspirasyon ng mamamayang Moro sa kanyang karapatan sa sariling pagpapasya, ayon kay Aba.
Paliwanag
Sa isang pahayag ay nilinaw naman ni Luistro ang kautusan at ito ang kanyang sinabi: “It has come to my attention that several news articles on DepEd Order 32 s.2013 “Reiterating DECS Order No. 53 s.2001 (Strengthening the Protection of Religious Rights of Students)” have been published with misleading headlines (e.g. “DepEd orders Muslim teachers to unveil in class,” “Muslim teachers instructed not to wear veils during classes,” “Muslim teachers asked to remove veils in classrooms,” etc.)
“Such headlines give readers the impression that the DepEd is ordering female Muslim teachers to remove their head covering (hijab). What the order actually states is that teachers handling Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) are requested to remove the veil covering the face (niqab) when teaching in the classroom.”
“This is to promote better teacher-pupil relationship and to support effective language teaching since seeing the teacher’s lips helps in the correct production of letter sounds. The DepEd is available for questions or clarifications regarding issuances such as this. I hope that in the future we check our facts and check the actual text of the Department Order before jumping to conclusions.”
Hijaab-Niqaab Advocacy Network
Nagbigay naman ng reaksyon sa Mindanao Examiner ang Hijaab-Niqaab Advocacy Network bilang tugon sa paliwanag ni Luistro.
Ito ang sagot naman ni Warina Sushil Jukuy, ang Secretary-General ng grupo: How can removal of face veil be a determinant in promoting better teacher-pupil relationship?
“There seems to be no problem in ALIVE classes between niqaabi teacher and pupils due to the following reasons: The niqaabi and pupils for ALIVE classes are not alien to each other; they share affinity by being Muslims; Arabic Language can be and has been taught effectively in the past as much as in the present; the face veil is not a barrier towards effective teaching of Arabic language and Islamic Values Education; The face and lips do not make or break good relationship and rapport between teacher and learners: the eyes are expressive as much as the tone of voice is.”
“Effective language teaching involves basically the voice as a medium transmitter to be received by a good pair of ears”…Proof: a blind pupil although he or she sees nothing at all, neither the face nor the lips and teeth of the teacher, that blind pupil still learns because of his other perceptual skills and most of all– he may have lost his eyes but he has acquired sharp sense of hearing”
“Seeing the teacher’s lips helps in the correct production of letter sounds…” I dare say that listening attentively and correctly without being distracted of the quality of the lips and teeth or of the quality of the face of the teacher helps in the correct pronunciation of letter sounds. Anyway, our topic is female teacher who wears face veil…she can be resourceful enough to teach “pronunciation” techniques by way of description the position of tongue, teeth in producing certain sounds…Or use interactive multimedia techniques. If that is the concern of DepEd Secretary Luistro, then it can easily be resolved without resorting to temporary removal of face veil while teaching in the classroom. Same thing applies to the good DepEd Secretary Luistro: “With all due respect and begging for his indulgence, We hope that in the future DepEd Secretary Armin checks his facts and comprehension level on the import of the face veil before jumping or stamping heavily to any inconclusive DepEd Order.”
Matatandaang naging maiinit at kontrobersyal na isyu ang pag gamit ng hijab ng mga estudyante at nurse sa Zamboanga City matapos itong ipagbawal sa kanila. At sa kalaunan ay binawi rin ito ng mga kolehiyo at unibersidad at pagamutan dahil sa matinding protesta at kautusan ng korte. (Mindanao Examiner)
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