The rebuilding of schools and the implementation of support programs for learners and teachers in Marawi City will continue, the Department of Education (DepEd) assured the public Friday, June 4.

The DepEd, a member of the Task Force Bangon Marawi, said it is not remiss in keenly monitoring and supervising the construction of schools that aims to cater to educational needs of at least 9,000 students in the most affected areas (MAA) of the city.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones thanked all the stakeholders for their valuable contributions to the Marawi City’s rehabilitation efforts.

“To all the regional offices who contributed financially, materially, and physically to the rehabilitation of Marawi, that is how it should be. When a family encounters danger or threats, then everybody pitches in. These activities I believe, have helped speed up the recovery of the people of Marawi from the trauma. The DepEd family helped out in big and small ways,” she said in a statement issued Friday.

DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said the Marawi experience prodded the agency to conceptualize the Public School of the Future (PSOF) Framework and develop the DepEd Commons and DepEd TV.

He also noted that the department continued championing schools as zones of peace, reminding that no armed individuals or groups are allowed in its premises.

The policy also instructs schools to accept all internally displaced learners in other schools even without credentials, he added.

“DepEd’s Marawi response and its efforts in the development and construction of schools in the different affected sites and rehabilitation areas are a testament of the Department’s commitment to ensure the continuity of education even in times of conflict and beyond,” Pascua said.

Meanwhile, the DepEd Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Service (DRRMS) has committed to pour in resources "to provide thousands of response kits for teachers and learners, including hygiene kits to ensure their well-being.”

It said various temporary learning spaces in the city are beneficiaries of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) and school feeding programs

“We started setting up temporary learning spaces or classrooms in various accommodating schools and resettlement sites for we have been aware that learning continuity is a must even during the aftermath of a crisis or emergency,” DRRMS Director Ronilda Co said.