Fix, rebuild typhoon-hit schools, gov’t urged
THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) called on the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Marcos administration to quickly fix the damages caused by Super Typhoon Karding to schools, mostly in Central Luzon, as these will prove to be “setbacks” to 100% face-to-face (F2F) classes in November 2022.
ACT suggested the swift mobilization of the remaining P10.46 billion calamity funds for this year to immediately address the effects of “Karding” on education, agriculture, livelihood, and homes in affected provinces.
ACT’s ground monitoring showed that many classrooms in Aurora, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac, and Metro Manila have roofs and windows damaged by strong winds and fallen trees or have furniture and equipment materials soaked in flood water.
“Typhoon Karding has rendered more classrooms unusable, thereby further exacerbating classroom shortage. Sana ay hindi magaya ito sa mga paaralan na sinalanta ng bagyong Jolina at Odette sa Bicol, Visayas at Mindanao na halos isang taon nang nakatiwangwang at hindi pa rin nakukumpuni kung kaya lalong kapos ang mga silid-aralan na nagagamit ngayon,” said Vladimer Quetua, ACT Chairperson.
“Emergency assistance should also be given to affected families to cope with the disaster’s heavy toll on their homes and livelihood. Hindi makapagtutuloy ang klase kung hindi pa makauwi ang mga pamilya sa kanilang mga tahanan at naka-evacuate pa sila sa mga paaralan. Hindi rin makakapasok sa klase ang mga batang mula sa mga pamilyang nalunod ang mga pananim at wala ngayong makain,” explained Quetua.
“We should get the schools back to normal operations at the soonest possible time. We hope that this will be done with the national government and the DepEd Central Office actively leading the efforts and providing the needed resources. We hope that these tasks will not just fall on the shoulders of school heads and our teachers as before, who have been so conveniently commanded by the highers-up to find ways on their own to resolve the problems on the ground,” asserted Quetua.
“Kung gaano sila kaagap nakapag-kansela ng klase, sana ay gayun rin kaagap ang pamahalaan sa pagsasaayos ng mga nasalanta ng kalamidad. We cannot afford longer periods of class disruptions if we aim for education recovery. Our teachers are always ready to heed the call of duty but we need a steadfast leadership and an enabling environment to do so,” ended Quetua.
