A total of 165 schools sustained damages from the onslaught of Super Typhoon Karding so far, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Friday, Sept. 30.
During the joint press conference of DepEd and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), education spokesperson Michael Poa said the estimated cost for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged schools is Php 1.17 billion.
There were about 386 totally damaged classrooms, Poa disclosed.
Poa clarified that the data are moving numbers and may change from time to time.
“Ngayon, we are identifying talaga yung extent ng damage sa mga schools and kung ilan talaga ang schools na may infrastructure damage. ‘Yung binibigay ko na number specifically the amount is just an estimate, kailangan pa ng detailed inspection sa field,“ Poa said.
[We are identifying the extent of damage in schools and how many schools are damaged. The number that I presented specifically the amount is just an estimate, it will be needing more detailed inspection in the field.]
He said affected schools would be switching to alternative delivery modes such as distance learning and blended learning in accordance with the department’s protocol.
“Kung hindi kaya, we are coordinating with various LGUs [local government units] para tignan kung meron silang temporary spaces na maibigay sa atin na available na tulad ng covered courts o iba pang rooms kung pwedeng gamitin pang klase na gamitin ng ating learners,“ he added.
[If it is not possible, we are coordinating with various LGUs to look if they have available temporary spaces for us like covered courts or classrooms which can be used for the classes of learners.]
But Poa said not all LGUs could offer temporary spaces for learners just like what happened after the Abra earthquake.
The education spox said they are aiming to download funds to build temporary learning spaces in affected regions and utilize it for other interventions needed.
“This is a developing situation, we’ll have to look kung ilan ang magagawa at magagawa pa sa lalong madaling panahon,“ he noted.
[This is a developing situation, we’ll have to look if how many we can build as soon as possible.]
