Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara announced on Thursday, July 25, that the opening of classes scheduled for next week in public schools will be postponed in areas heavily affected by Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon (habagat).
“Some schools will really have to postpone their openings kasi maraming aayusin at lilinisin (because there are many things to fix and clean),” Angara said in a statement issued to reporters.
However, he clarified that the July 29 school opening will proceed as scheduled in unaffected areas. “Pero yung wala o minimal ang damages itutuloy pa rin ang pasukan (But those with no or minimal damage will still proceed with the opening),” Angara said.
List to be issued
Angara said he will issue a list on July 26 specifying which schools will need to postpone their openings.
“I’ll be issuing a list tomorrow kung saan postponed ang pasukan (of which schools have postponed their openings) and the regional directors will also work with the principals to assess readiness for school opening,” he explained.
Call for postponement
Earlier, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) called on Angara and President Marcos to postpone the opening of classes for School Year (SY) 2024-2025 scheduled for next week.
“Many schools, if not submerged, are currently serving as evacuation centers,” TDC said. “Our communities, families, parents, children, and even individual teachers are grappling with their respective concerns in light of this calamity,” the group added.
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Angara, for his part, said that DepEd will consider the readiness of schools affected by the widespread flooding.
“Hindi namin pipilitin yung mga nasalanta talaga at mahihirapan sa school opening ng Lunes (We will not force those who were truly affected and will have difficulties with the school opening on Monday),” he said.
As of July 24, DepEd data showed that 45 schools across eight regions reported infrastructure damage. There were also 21 schools serving as evacuation centers in Metro Manila and Region IV-A.
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/25/classrooms-should-be-a-last-resort-for-evacuation-dep-ed-1