DepEd Assures Regular Resumption of Classes in ‘Yolanda’- Affected Areas

The Department of Education (DepEd) has assured that classes in the areas affected by typhoon “Yolanda” will resume on June 2, 2014 as it remains committed to the rehabilitation and restoration of damaged school buildings and classrooms.

In an interview with the Philippines News Agency, DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali said that the department has prepared temporary learning centers for the affected students pending the construction of new school buildings.

“We have allocated budget for the installation of makeshift blackboards, chairs and tables for the temporary learning centers,” Umali said.

The DepEd, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), intends to construct school facilities that can withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake and winds with maximum strength of 250 kilometers per hour.

The department has allocated a budget of P5 billion for repairing 17,757 classrooms and P2 billion for the construction of 2,313 new classrooms in the “Yolanda”- affected areas, particularly in the Eastern Visayas region which was heavily damaged by the typhoon.

It has also coordinated with the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau (MGB), Department of Agriculture, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the relocation of schools away from disaster-prone areas.

“We are ready for the opening of classes,” Umali stressed. (PNA) SCS/ABP/Lloyd C. Oafericua and Shaira Rae B. Suringa -OJT

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