Parents, teachers and students clean, fix and paint the classrooms of the Zapatera Elementary School in Barangay Zapatera, Cebu City as Brigada Eskwela 2017 activities start. (CDN Photo by Junjie Mendoza)
MAKE Brigada Eskwela a yearlong activity.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones made this call during yesterday’s launching of the Brigada Eskwela 2017 at the Ramon Duterte National High School in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
“Kinahanglan yearlong activity kini. Kung adunay kada-ut sa iskwelahan, kung adunay natural disaster, kung adunay disgrasya, dili ta maghulat sa Brigada Eskwela para apindihan kining mga panginahanglanon nato (We should make this a yearlong activity. If there is damage in the school facilities due to natural disasters or accidents, we should not wait for Brigada Eskwela to fix the damage (in May),” said Briones, who also highlighted the lack of classrooms as one of the main concerns being faced by the Department of Education.
She said natural disasters had added more to the damage and shortage of classrooms.
She cited the initial inventory of new classrooms in the country in 2016 at 66,000, and this year DepEd is targeting to build 47,000 more classrooms.
DepEd, however, is trying to address this lack of classrooms issue by coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways, which will be the one to build the classrooms.
Briones also pointed out that building classrooms is not their job, it’s the job of the DPWH.
“Basin ang inyung huna-huna ang DepEd ang gatukod sa school building, ang DPWH ang maoy gatukod sa mga classrooms (DepEd will not construct the school building, the DPWH will do it),” she said.
A short program was held at the Ramon Duterte National High School which was attended by hundreds of teachers and students during the launching of Brigada Eskwela.
After the launching, a tree-planting activity in the school was also held spearheaded by Secretary Briones./CNU Intern Christine June N. Paler
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