It's bare walls only for Philippine classrooms as Vice-President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has ordered public schools to remove visual aids, pictures of national heroes and even past and present presidents from classroom walls.

Under Department of Education Order No. 21, all schools shall ensure that schools grounds, classrooms and all its walls, and other school facilities are clean and free from unnecessary artwork, decorations, tarpaulin and posters at all times.

"Ang directive po ng ating Vice President...ay talagang gusto nating bare ang mga walls. Maging clean, orderly and functional ang mga classrooms," DepEd spokesman Undersecretary Michael Poa said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

He noted that during her rounds, the Vice President noted that many schools had visual aids on classrooms from previous years. "Ang nangyayari ay nakakadistract lang po 'yan sa ating mga learners," he said.

Poa said the same bare walls policy also applies to posters of national heroes such as Jose Rizal.

"I know that President Marcos and all other former presidents and all heroes past and present will not at all be bothered if learners focus on their teachers, lessons, projects and assignments," the Vice President said in a statement.

"The order is what it is. Take out everything on the wall and let learners focus on their studies. Classrooms and schools should be clean, orderly and functional."

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The DepEd spokesman said visual aids can still be used but only during the time of the lesson. He noted different subjects are taught in the same classroom during the day.

He said the order also applies to artwork of students. "Decorations, pictures, photos, artwork na ginawa na ng nakaraang batches pa. 'Yan po ang gusto nating tanggalin," he said.

"Gusto lang natin maging maaliwalas ang environment para sa ating mga learners."

Asked if crucifixes should also be removed, he noted that public schools should be non-sectarian: "Let's just try to keep our walls bare and clean," he added.

He also noted that prayer in classrooms should be non-sectarian.

"Nagpe-pray po tayo but what we want is 'yung prayer natin ay for all religions. Hindi lang Catholic," he said.

He denied that DepEd is focusing only on classroom cleanliness, saying the department is also addressing other problems such as classroom shortage.

The Teacher's Dignity Coalition earlier urged school heads and teachers to "not take too literally" the DepEd order that prohibits classroom decorations, saying this only pertains to unnecessary posters.

"We have to understand na napakalaki ng tulong ng mga posters, educational materials na ito. Alam niyo, lumalabas sa pag-aaral... malaking tulong sa mga understanding ng mga bata dahil [visually] nakakakuha tayo ng learning," TDC chairperson Benjo Basas said.

ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro, for her part, said visual aids are not a distraction to students, contrary to the Vice-President's belief.

She said DepEd did not also release any study supporting their order.

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