EDUCATION Secretary Leonor Briones called on school superintendents to face the challenges in the education sector and help prepare learners for an unpredictable world.

“We have to realistically contend with fear. Our children are afraid, our teachers are afraid and, I suspect that even in your heart of hearts, you are also afraid. You are afraid because you don’t know what’s coming next,” Briones told the new officers and board of directors of the Philippine Association of School Superintendents.

She addressed some of the concerns of the schools division superintendents including the widening of the gap in assessing learning outcomes, technical assistance for school heads, supervisors, and superintendents, overlapping of webinars at the central, regional, and district office, remote working arrangements and unevenness of outputs, and the slow rate of vaccination.

She lauded school superintendents for their essential role, reminding them that they are “deeply embedded in the structure as well as the culture of education.”

The new batch of PASS officers who took their oath are President Rita Riddle, Vice President Romelito Flores, Secretary Roger Capa, Treasurer Rommel Bautista, Auditor Ma. Luz delos Reyes, Business Manager Roy Tuballa, and PIO Gregorio Cyrus Elejorde.

Briones thanked PASS for going beyond its mandate in order to help more members of the drpartment.

“PASS has gone beyond its small world of superintendents. You have given assistance and help on many occasions to the DepEd family, including myself. And I would like to acknowledge your help and expression of support, especially on the challenges that we as individuals at the present face because of the pandemic and other personal challenges,” she said.