DepEd asks LGUs: Stop using schools as evacuation centers

MANILA, Philippines —  To prevent prolonged on-site class disruptions during the rainy season, the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday said it has asked local government units to refrain from using public schools as evacuation centers during typhoons and other calamities.

DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa said the agency has made this position clear during a recent meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), stressing how students would be unable to use classrooms if the stay of evacuees is prolonged.

As a policy, the DepEd does allow the use of schools as emergency evacuation centers for a maximum of 15 days. However, Poa noted that “it is really unavoidable sometimes” that the evacuees stay longer than this period, especially when regional and division offices would allow it at the request of local government units.

“During the last NDRRMC meeting, we have given the position that we hope our schools will no longer be used as evacuation centers,” Poa told dzBB.

“Classroom instruction gets hampered and it results in learning disruption and we cannot return to schools,” he added.

If disruptions actually occur, Poa said administrators and teachers have been instructed to turn to alternative delivery mode to ensure “learning continuity” and maximize the coverage of learning competencies in public schools.

As of 2019, buildings being used for educational purposes outnumber actual structures dedicated to evacuees during natural calamities.

In preparation for future calamities, over 1,200 schools nationwide have been set for repair and reinforcement against natural disasters after the National Economic and Development Authority approved the DepEd’s P30.56-billion resilient schools project.

DepEd said the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools project would ensure the recovery and reinforcement of 4,756 school buildings affected by disasters from 2019 to 2023. The ISRS project would be rolled out in the next five years in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways and funded through an official development assistance loan from the World Bank.

Various groups and education sector stakeholders have called