No school for 1M students; 3,200 classrooms destroyed

Damaged Burauen North Central School photo by Rem Zamora for ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA -- The Department of Education (DepEd) reported that a total of 3,200 classrooms were totally damaged due to super typhoon "Yolanda," affecting a little over 1 million students. Several areas in Region 6, including northern Iloilo, Antique, Roxas, Capiz and three districts in Aklan, are still unable to hold classes. Most areas in Region 8 in Samar and Leyte also cannot resume classes yet.

Makeshift classrooms require a roof that would protect students and teachers. The DepEd is asking for donations such as tarpaulins, sacks or other materials that they can use to build makeshift classrooms. They are hoping to put up makeshift classrooms within the week in order to be able to resume classes by next week or at the soonest possible time.

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro believes that although it is hard to hold classes at this time, it would benefit children who survived the typhoon. He added students will not have to come in complete uniform. Some children are also expected to transfer to other schools. The DepEd already issued a memorandum instructing schools to accommodate these students even without school cards or documents.

The DepEd expects Yolanda-stricken areas to hold classes in makeshift classrooms until the end of the school year. But according to Luistro, they plan to use their 2014 budget for the building of new classrooms which they hope to finish by June next year. He assured they are studying new building designs to make sure that the new school buildings will be resilient to typhoons and earthquakes.

This means the buildings should be able to withstand 250 kph typhoons and magnitude 8 to 9 earthquakes. The new school buildings will also be built on higher ground and not on areas identified as danger zones. Luistro admitted, however, that if the number of damaged classrooms goes beyond 4,000, then they will have to ask the assistance of the private sector. Luistro estimates a classroom may cost around P750,000 to P900,000. So far, the DepEd already received pledges from the private sector to rebuild 30 classrooms.