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EYE CHAMPIONS: DepEd, Fred Hollows Foundation equip KG teachers, school health personnel with primary eye care skills

 “We commit ourselves to the eye care program with hopes that this activity brings a strong partnership among DepEd, USAID, and Fred Hollows Foundation to ensure young learners’ active participation and better academic performance brought by their healthy eyes.”

These are the words of Marie Antoinette A. Tesalona, DepEd Quezon’s Medical Officer III, during the Schools Division of Quezon (SDO Quezon) through the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) and Fred Hollows Foundation’s (FHF) conduct of the Primary Eye Care Training of Trainers for Kindergarten Teachers at Quezon National High School Gym, June 21.

This is in response to OUA Memo 00-0522-0058 or the Implementation of the Child Blindness Program (CBP) for Kindergarten Learners which states the Department of Education, in cooperation with the Department of Health and the Fred Hollows Foundation, will implement the National Vision Screening Program (NVSP) as mandated in the National Vision Screening Act 11358 of 2019. Participants to the said training are identified 100 Kindergarten (KG) teachers and 25 Elementary Nurses from the four congressional districts of Quezon province. The said participants are divided into two batches (AM and PM) to observe strict compliance to safety and health protocols as prescribed by the IATF.

“We are actually one of the four SDOs in the country to pilot this training,” said Eusylda U. Carandang, DepEd Quezon’s nurse and focal person of DepEd Quezon’s eye health program.

Meanwhile, when asked why the DepEd Central Office and FHF chose DepEd Quezon to pilot the training, Helen S. Piana, FHF Program Manager said that Quezon, among all the schools divisions in the country, has been performing really well and submitting reports and referrals regularly.

“For the past two years, even in the middle of the strictest lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Quezon continuously sends its reports and referrals for eye screening and checkup to us which other SDOs wasn’t able to do,” she said.

The three other SDOs who were chosen to pilot the training are Oriental Mindoro, Antique, and Negros Oriental.

On importance of equipping teachers with primary eye care skills “Early and foundation of skills of learning starts from Kindergarten level. One of the basic needs to form a strong foundation of learning is to have a better vision,” Christian V. Dator, KG teacher-participant said when asked about how this training would be beneficial for a KG teacher like him.

“Through this seminar, we are able to gather knowledge and reliable and comprehensive information on proper eye care, and simple and basic first aid skills,” he added.

He further said that to provide quality learning, it is a must that children’s health and welfare must be taken into consideration including good vision or eyesight.

Meanwhile, Reggie R. Revilla, invited ophthalmologist from the Quezon Medical Center, said that the earlier the detection of the eye problem is, the better.

“That way, we could give immediate solutions before the problem worsens,” he said. On top of the lectures, the teacher-participants were also exposed to skills training to facilitate them with skills on vision screening of their learners.

School vision screening

Identify the presence of impaired vision; assess the ability to use the eyes together; and detect the presence of structural abnormalities: these are the goals of the vision screening which the participants will follow once they go back to their respective schools.

However, Piana emphasized the importance of informed consent before the teacher or nurse begins the screening.

“No consent, no eye exam,” she stressed out.

Once the consent for vision screening is given to parents, only then the teacher or nurse can proceed with it.

Post-training activity

With the goal of screening some 8,000 Kindergarten students (aged 5-6), the teacher-participants who attended the one-day training will conduct the same training to other KG teachers in their respective congressional districts in June 23 and 24.

Ma. Lee L. Alpuerto, Phanny S. Ramos, and Dave A. Caballar of DepEd Central Office - Bureau of Learners Support Services – School Health Division and Jon Crail, FHF Program Executive Director, Claire Yule, Business Operations Executive Director, Penny Palmer, Legal Governance Risk and Compliance Director, and Maria Victoria Rondaris, Philippine Country Manager of Fred Hollows Foundation personally visited the training in the afternoon to give a few words of encouragement and gratitude to the organizers and participants. +++

Ian Benedict A. Roxas Field Correspondent | Quezon National High School