The Department of Education (DepEd) postponed its nationwide simultaneous school safety drill for active attack incidents scheduled on Tuesday, after groups of psychiatric specialists in the country claim that the activity "may cause lasting psychological harm to learners."

In an advisory issued on Monday, the DepEd announced that the drill supposed to be conducted on Tuesday will be rescheduled for the first week of September.

"We have reports on cancellation of face to face classes in many areas due to inclement weather. We are also consolidating expert opinions and evidence-based practices to strengthen our activity," it stated.

"For this reason, we are postponing the scheduled school safety drill to next week," the agency added.

In a joint position statement issued on Aug 22, the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PSCAP) call for the deferral of simulation activities noting that although "preparedness in school is essential, but the method chosen must be trauma-informed and grounded in evidence."

It stressed that "such simulations differ from routine safety drills like earthquake or fire exercises, which are necessary and beneficial."

"Simulated active-attack exercises expose learners to hyper-realistic scenarios of violence. Current evidence does not show that these simulations reduce casualties or prevent incidents, while multiple studies demonstrate that they can cause lasting psychological harm across age groups," it stated.

The PPA and PSCAP also recommended that "school safety is best strengthened through measures that protect without causing trauma."

"Locks, controlled entry points, and perimeter security should be prioritized. Protocol must be trauma-informed, with clear advance notice and the involvement of guidance counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and child psychiatrists," the statement said.

"Instead of live simulations, schools can adopt tabletop exercises. These are simple, discussion-based activities where teachers, staff and parents sit together and talk through "what if" scenarios," it added.

The DepEd initially scheduled the conduct of nationwide simultaneous school safety drills for active attack incidents on August 25 following the recent shooting incident inside the premises of Ateneo de Zamboanga University where two students including the shooter died and several others were injured.

The incident in Ateneo de Zamboanga University is the second gun related violence recorded after the school shooting in Tacloban that killed three last June. Robina Asido/PHS