THE Department of Education has mobilized rapid response efforts to ensure that students affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine will return to their classes as soon as possible.
In a statement, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara praised the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) staff and DepEd personnel nationwide for assisting schools and communities affected by the storm.
“Even as classes and government offices were suspended for three days, many of our staff continued working from home to coordinate assistance,” Angara said.
According to the situation report dated Oct. 28 from the DepEd DRRM System, 38,376 schools continue to suspend classes, of which 888 were flooded or affected by landslides and 1,127 were used as evacuation centers.
DepEd has estimated infrastructure damage at P3.7 billion, with P2.9 billion needed for reconstruction and P737.5 million for major repairs.
The Department has launched a comprehensive recovery plan to ensure students can resume learning without further delay.
It is also looking at more rehabilitation and recovery response through the replacement of damaged learning resources such as textbooks, learning tools, equipment, and computer packages, additional Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) for Regional Offices (ROs), Schools Division Offices (SDOs), and schools, reproduction of additional printed Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) and setting up of temporary learning spaces, among others.
“Every day out of school is a lost opportunity to learn; that is why we are prioritizing rehabilitation efforts to restore normalcy in the education system as quickly as possible,” Angara said.
For its employees, DepEd is also making sure that special emergency leave (SEL) from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) is available for them.
The SEL provides up to five paid days of leave for government personnel directly affected by the disaster, which can be taken consecutively or intermittently.
“This leave allows our employees to focus on recovery — whether it’s rebuilding their homes or supporting their families — so they can return to work ready to serve,” Angara said.
The department remains committed to minimizing the disruption to education and swiftly addressing the challenges posed by the storm by working closely with local communities, school officials, and regional offices to ensure that every student, no matter how severely affected, has the resources and support they need to continue their education, it said.
“Our goal is clear: to bring students back to school and back to learning as soon as possible,” Angara said.
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