DAVAO CITY — The Department of Education (DepEd) 11 (Davao) is set to submit recommendations for the proposed ordinance requiring all schools to include traffic rules and road safety in the curriculum, Councilor Ma. Belen Acosta said on Tuesday.
Acosta said DepEd already conducted a two-week workshop for the proposed curriculum.
“It does not have to be a subject,” she told reporters, adding the proposal will be submitted to her for discussion by the City Council’s Committees on Peace and Public Safety and Publication, which she chairs.
Acosta clarified that the proposed curriculum on traffic rules and road safety will only be for the primary and secondary students. The additional program, she said, can be incorporated in the social studies subject and resource persons need not be school teachers.
“The school can invite traffic officers as speakers,” she said.
According to Acosta, the module may only include the basic road safety guidelines for children to gain enough practical knowledge on the subject. For instance, she said children must know the meaning of the green, yellow, and red traffic lights.
“Naay mga driver nga kung mag yellow na paspas kayo. Dapat pag yellow na mag slow down na and yield to other cars (There are drivers who would drive fast when it’s yellow when in fact they should slow down and yield to other cars),” she said.
Education on traffic rules and road safety should start with the children because they are the future road users, she pointed out. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)