The schools that postponed the opening of classes for school year (SY) 2024-2025 are only around two percent of the total number of basic education schools in the country, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said Monday.
According to the data presented by DepEd, a total of 842 schools were unable to open classes after being affected by Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon, which affected 803,824 learners.
"Maliit lang kasi wala pang 2 percent of the whole country. So ibig sabihin 98 percent of schools nagbukas (It's quite small because it's just almost 2 percent of the whole country. So, it means that 98 percent of schools opened)," Angara said in an ambush interview at Carmona National High School in Cavite.
Angara said he was visiting schools to personally assess the opening of classes.
"Gusto kong tingnan kamusta yung pagturo, yung mga kagamitan, at syempre yung psychological well-being ng ating community, yung mga teachers given na binagyo tayo nang malakas (I want to check the teaching, facilities, and of course the psychological well-being of our community, the teachers given that we recently experienced a typhoon)," he said.
The DepEd reported that the region with the highest number of affected schools is Region III with a total of 452, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 225, Region I (Ilocos) with 95, Region IV-A (Calabarzon) with 66, and Region XII (Soccsksargen) with only 4.
However, the region with the highest number of affected learners recorded is NCR with a total number of 450,644, followed by Region III (Central Luzon) with 231,353, Region IV-A with 88,745, Region I with 32,363, and Region XII with 719.
As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, a total of 19,870,531 learners were already enrolled – 10,874,947 in elementary; 5,992,777 in junior high school; 2,793,336 in senior high school; and 209,471 in the Alternative Learning System (ALS ).
The number is still expected to increase in the next few days.
Ensure learner's well-being, socio-emotional needs
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday called on Angara to take care of the learners' well-being and socio-emotional needs amid climate-related challenges.
This was after the southwest monsoon and super typhoon Carina affected over 19,500 schools, with hundreds of them reporting to the DepEd plans to delay the start of the school year which begins this July 29.
In a statement, the UNICEF said students continue to be at risk of missing in-person class days as more typhoons are expected to hit the country in the coming months.
It noted that primary school children do not meet the required proficiency in reading and math and vulnerable learners, such as those with disabilities and living in rural areas, are being left further behind.
Hence, employability skills such as problem solving, information literacy, and critical and creative thinking among them are also lagging.
“We call on the new Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara to make sure that no child is left behind, to take care of the well-being and socio-emotional needs of learners, and to help our teachers," UNICEF Philippines country representative Edgar Donoso Paz said.
"We are ready to support collaborative work across sectors to address prerequisites to learning, such as the triple burden of malnutrition, violence against children, and the effects of climate change."
The UN children’s body has cited the gains already achieved by the DepEd such as a learning recovery program with catch-up classes, retooling of the curriculum to focus on key competencies and foundational skills, and employment of teacher aides, among others.
Securing learners
The Police Regional Office (PRO)-3 (Central Luzon), meanwhile, said it is keeping a close watch on the opening of the new school year while conducting relief operations in areas still reeling from the effects of bad weather.
In a statement Monday, PRO-3 chief Brig. Gen. Jose Hidalgo said guidelines were already established in accordance with the “Oplan Ligtas Balik- Eskwela 2024”.
Hidalgo said around 1,000 personnel are deployed in the different provinces to heighten police visibility in schools, colleges, universities, and nearby areas, which are most likely to be targets of criminals.
He added that Police Assistance Desks were established at schools and other learning institutions to respond to various incidents.
He also directed all field officers to visit schools and coordinate with school officials to prevent students from falling prey to crimes and engaging in illegal activities.
Hidalgo also said they were working with traffic management personnel from local government units in anticipation of increased vehicular traffic due to students traveling to and from schools.
“Once again, I am calling for the cooperation of the public to prevent any crime in the community, especially in our learning institutions by providing the authorities relevant and timely information through PRO3 hotline 0998-5985330/ 0917- 5562597 and through its social media,” Hidalgo said.
The Philippine National Police earlier said it would deploy a total of 33,286 personnel to various schools throughout the country to ensure an orderly start to the academic year. (with report from Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
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