TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines– Following the devastation wrought by super typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) in Eastern Visayas that caused schools to defer their classes, the Department of Education (DepEd) formally resumes their classes last Monday, December 2.
Ms. Elena de Luna, Assistant Division Superintendent for Eastern Samar and Regional Information said “informal classes” will resume only in schools that were not heavily damaged and were declared by the Public Works department as safe and durable.
According to the official, the department were expecting other schools that were not heavily damaged to start to “account” pupils and teachers.
As of presstime, classes already resumed in some areas affected by the calamity including Northern Samar; Calbayog and Catbalogan in Samar; and Maasin, Southern Leyte.
De Luna said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) together with Save the Children will set up alternative learning shelters in four schools in Leyte, which will serve as temporary classrooms.
Palo 1 and 2 Central Schools and San Joaquin National High School in Palo, Leyte; and San Roque Elementary School in Tolosa were the four schools that are identified by the UNICEF.
Each alternative learning shelter measures 7×9 meters, which is the size of an ideal classroom.
The soft launching for the four learning shelters is scheduled on Monday.
De Luna said there are plans to establish similar learning shelters in Tacloban, Ormoc and Eastern Samar.
