MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has lifted its moratorium on school field trips and other off-campus activities for both public and private schools.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones signed DepEd Order Number 66, series of 2017, which lists down 3 guidelines that schools should follow in holding co-curricular and extracurricular off-campus activities. 

When conducting off-campus trips, DepEd ordered schools to:

• Ensure relevance and alignment with the educational competencies of the Kindergarten-to-12 curriculum and the leadership development of learners
• Uphold child protection principles and that no learner shall be disadvantaged in any form
• Observe the safety and security protocols for all participants before, during, and after the activity 

The order was uploaded on the DepEd’s website on December 27, 2017.

DepEd had banned school field trips starting in February 2017 after a bus carrying 50 students from Bestlink College of the Philippines crashed into an electric post at Sitio Bayucan in Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay. 

Fifteen students died in the road crash. They were on the way to a camping trip in the province. 

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) had also imposed a moratorium on the school field trips of state colleges and universities following the Tanay bus incident. 

CHED lifted the moratorium  in August 2017. – Rappler.com