The Department of Education (DepEd) has tallied nearly a month’s worth of school days lost to suspensions brought about by a number of calamities.
Numerous schools across the country have lost as much as 26 learning days from August to October, according to DepEd’s consolidated data.
In August, classes were suspended over a southwest monsoon and the Taal volcano smog; in September, suspensions were due to a southwest monsoon heightened by Typhoon Carina, tropical cyclones Ferdie and Gener, Tropical Depression Enteng, Tropical Storm Helen, as well as a transport strike; in October, there had been the Tropical Depression Julian, Severe Tropical Storm, and Typhoon Leon.
CALABARZON schools lost 26 days, those in the Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon lost 24, while those in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) missed 23. Other regions which have had to cancel classes are the following:
- Ilocos Region - 22
- Metro Manila - 17
- Bicol Region - 16
- MIMAROPA - 15
- Western Visayas - 14
- Central Visayas - 11
- Zamboanga Peninsula - 10
- Eastern Visayas - 5
- Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region - 3
- SOCCSKSARGEN - 2
Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Typhoon Leon laid waste to 492 classrooms. Those that have sustained partial damages and require major repairs number to 1,147, whereas there are 2,445 in need of minor repairs. Repairing the 492 classrooms warrants a total expenditure of Php 2.5 million, and the partly destroyed ones necessitate Php 500,000.
“We cannot simply rely on the resilience of our communities. Our planning systems must adapt—and adapt quickly—to our new reality. Our education systems must be stable and predictable even in times of emergency,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara declared on Tuesday.
To address the growing unreliability of the current learning set-up, the agency has arranged for an alternative delivery mode for the regions hardest hit, which will be implemented this month.
The Dynamic Learning Program (DLP) will be piloted in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Bicol Region, and CAR, permitting flexibility for make-up classes. The DLP also entails parallel classes, activity-based engagement, student portfolios, and less homework.
