CHED to impose fieldtrip moratorium after Tanay bus accident

RIZAL PROVINCE, Philippines – After a fatal bus accident in Tanay, Rizal where 14 students were killed and left dozens injured, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Tuesday said that a moratorium on all educational tours and field trips in public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will be issued
In a press conference held by the Commission on Higher Education, CHED Commissioner Prospero de Vera III said that the Commission En Banc has decided to issue a moratorium in field trips until the investigation on the Tanay bus accident on Monday has been completed. The moratorium, he added, will also give CHED the time to review the existing policies on educational tours and field trips that all HEIs should follow.
De Vera said that the Commission en banc on Tuesday morning, February 21, unanimously decided to immediately issue a directive to all HEIs “so we can properly investigate this tragedy and review current policies covering field trips.”
On Monday morning, February 20, a tourist bus carrying college students from Bestlink College of the Philippines bound for a medical and survival training as part of their National Service Training Program (NSTP) subject crashed into an electric post in Barangay Sampaloc, in Tanay, Rizal. As reported, the said accident took the lives of 15 people – 13 students, one teacher and the driver of the bus.
De Vera said that CHED will issue a document imposing a moratorium on field trips either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The said moratorium, he added, will cover all “out of town, out of school field trips of all colleges and universities.”