Fourth-year BS Criminology students faced the first week of limited in-person classes with militaristic drills in preparation for their on-the-job training (OJT) this first semester of academic year 2022-2023.
The future criminologists lined up for training were spotted at the Lucinda Campus football field earlier today (September 7).
According to College of Criminal Justice Education dean Dr. Roel Alviar, this training before OJT deployment is meant to strengthen students' stamina and recall the basic facing and other militaristic commands.
The college targets to deploy its trainees to partner bureaus (PNP, BJMP, BFP) towards the end of September.
Dean Alviar also shared that the current OJT setup is still blended, a combination of face-to-face training and attendance to a series of webinars with speakers from the partner bureaus.
He added that they organized webinars as their internship program during the height of online classes due to the pandemic. Through the webinars, criminology students still learn from invited experts about how the bureaus work on the ground.
"Noon purely online lang ang OJT. May series of webinars with bureaus and 'yung mga speakers galing din sa mga bureaus. Ngayon naman blended na. May face-to-face OJT na may rotation sa mga bureaus tapos may series of webinars pa rin," Dean Alviar said.
Meanwhile, fourth-year student and CCJE governor John Denver Meimban said their batch only experienced minimal adjustments with the face-to-face drills because they had already undergone in-person ROTC exercises.
Meimban was a first-year student when the Duterte administration imposed the Luzonwide lockdown.
"Matagal po kami na-stuck sa pandemic. Hindi na-practice 'yung drills, hindi na nagawa kasi two years po kami sa pandemic era. Pero hindi naman po naging mahirap sa amin kasi nire-recall na lang po namin ang commands," he said.
As the student council governor, Meimban expressed his concern for the first to third-year criminology students because they have not been exposed to face-to-face ROTC activities.
"Iyon po kasing mga third year po ngayon, second year, and first year, hindi po sila naturuan ng basic facing, 'yung mga standard po na commands. 'Yung ROTC naman po kasi nila online po, more on activities and lessons po sila. Hindi po sila naturuan nung mga ganito pong execution talaga," he said.
However, National Service Training Program director Prof. Louis Adonis Silvestre said that face-to-face activities for ROTC are planned to be conducted as long as Tarlac Province stays under Alert Level 1.
Dean Alviar also shared that drills and training will be integrated into the limited in-person classes of first to third-year criminology students.
Photo courtesy: College of Criminal Justice Education Dean's Office
